Twin World
by Merryn
Summary: When Harry is revealed to be a Horcrux his friends,to save their world and him, try the only thing they can think of; sending him to another reality. He didn't expect it to work. Or to see his parents.Or the him who isn't him and the him he wishes wasn't.
1. Arrival

Disclaimer- This is on for a reason. It's Fan fiction and hence the characters, places, so on so on do not belong to me. They belong to J.K Rowling. However, I do enjoy messing about with them.

Full Summary- Harry is revealed to be a Horcrux and is sent to an alternate reality in a last ditch attempt to stop Voldermort rising again. However this alternate reality contains twin Harrys, not-dead-parents, strange going ons, wrong boy who lives, dark alter egos, Ravenclaws and sword fights with dark creatures. Well, I never!

I'll probably put up replies to reviews ( And I do hope to get some) on my profile, rather then on the actual story chapters.

(AzraeltheFallen- thanks for pointing out that nasty error.)

I hope you enjoy, starts off slow, picks up after prologue part-

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We have all heard of alternate and parallel universes. The idea that one decision, one choice, one change in chance can create a whole other world. Perhaps that choice has to be important to have an impact of the outcome of things- loosing a penny or deciding to wear your hair up rather then down, when you weren't going out anyway, isn't going to change anything. But something such as deciding who lives, who dies, who you should trust with something important to a whole society can change everything.

And we all know about the story of The-Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter. We know about how his parents were murdered, how he was raised, how he seemed to attract trouble and overcame a new challenge each year. We know that he defeated He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, Voldermort, Tom Marvolo Riddle. We know that to do so he lost friends, mentors and allies. But, in the end, we know he had a somewhat happy life with his wife Ginny and their children, Albus, James and Lily.

However, if a decision was made differently, we would have a slightly different outcome. We would know the story, up till a point. This point would be some time after gaining Slytherin's locket. What should have been a good idea, with good intentions, ended up destroying large amount of hope left in those resisting the Dark Lord. Hermione, in her brilliance, remembered an old tracking spell, one that was used specifically to track down someone's soul. In order to do so, you needed to have that persons soul in the first place, or in the case of hunting down Horcruxes, a Horcrux could be used.

It was planned that by using the spell on the locket they could then track down the last ones quickly. But in doing so they also revealed that Harry was a Horcrux. And, as important and devastating news always manages to do, this information reached the public of the magical community- perhaps not that Harry was a Horcrux, but that Harry must die, in order for the Dark Lord to die and to never return. How such information was spread is still a mystery, but it was thought that during one of the few times they were captured a death eater managed to look into their minds and then used it to destroy the light sides moral.

And so, even though Harry had defeated Voldermort, at the age of 19, the magical community wanted his death. Yes, he was a saviour, yes he was The-Boy-Who-Lived, but now he was the only thing that could allow Voldermort to come back. They were scared and they had lost so much to the war, and were terrified of it happening again. Harry had to die.

Which was why Harry, now 20, was standing in Dumbledore's office, one of the few truly safe locations left, with Hermione drawing symbols and glyphs around him. Those who were still alive and loyal to Harry were making sure that the Hogwarts grounds were still secured and Harry's life was in no immediate danger from hired assassins, desperate witches and wizards and the bitter and angry Death eaters that were still alive after the war.

"Hermione? Not that I'm not grateful or trying to rush you but.... Just how long will this take? I've been standing here for hours now and my legs are killing me," Harry complained, and received a small scowl from the busy Hermione. She was cautiously, and thus painstakingly slowly, copying down each symbol and mark onto a complex set of lines within a circle, from an ancient text, and occasionally telling him to be still in a frustrated voice.

"Harry, I can't risk anything going wrong- the symbols have to be exact, in the exact location and the added work of having to be specific with it means I have to consider each variable, check things through with Arithmancy, Apparition studies, my knowledge of ancient runes and-" Hermione caught the almost worried look on Harry's face and huffed at him for pulling a face at her detailed explanation, "You have to stay still Harry. I don't want to risk the spell not acknowledging you as the subject. This is such a detailed and untested spell- it only has a few recorded events of being done, and it is impossible to tell if it _actually _worked- and I'm having to alter it to fit our needs, I just, I don't want you to..." Hermione bit her lip, stopping herself from continuing.

The spell itself was dimension travel, widely believed impossible and having very little evidence to support it. This was a last resort. Attempts on Harry's life had increased and even Harry's friend knew that something had to be done to destroy the last piece of Voldermort's soul. In this world things played out differently and Harry never found out by chance that if he was The Master of Death, (as he still was in this world), that a killing curse from the Elder wand would kill the Horcrux but not him. So finding another method to destroy the soul piece, without killing Harry, was impossible- which was why the normally rational Hermione was desperate enough to look into irrational methods, one of which was sending Harry, and thus the soul piece, to another reality. Whether or not it worked, well...

No one had ever actually come back (Or, for that matter, had anyone from another reality visit this one). So it could very possibly be that this spell, while meant to send something or someone to another reality, simply vanished them out of existence completely; killing them. Though, this was actually what Harry wanted. Death.

Go to an alternate universe where no one knows you or die and go to your loved ones in the after life? No competition, was there? However Harry couldn't commit suicide or recklessly try and get himself killed. No, that would destroy the friends he left behind, who had fought to keep him alive during the war. If this spell, which he doubted even Hermione truly thought would work, gave them some sort of comfort, that he was off in another universe befriending the alternate versions of them, then he would go through with all this fuss.

"Well..." Hermione had finally composed herself after drawing a few last symbols onto the already complicated circle of glyphs, symbols, words and various ingredients, "I've managed to work in some specifications so that if- _when_ it sends you to another reality, it'll send you to one with certain acquirements- A blood spell, so that maybe you can find you're family? I know you weren't sure if you wanted to be in one were you might already exist, but... I can't stand the thought of you being completely alone, and maybe this way you'll finally get to meet you parents."

"And Voldermort's soul piece? Is there a chance he'll be resurrected from it in the new world?" Harry genuinely was worried about that, after all unleashing a meglomaniac onto another universe didn't seem the polite thing to do.

Hermione looked worried for a moment as she thought but then shock her head, "Shouldn't do. Souls are tricky things, Harry, but I think they are unique to each person, even to universes. The soul changes with person so it will never be the same as another. So it's not like you'll bond to another Tom Riddle and I don't think he can regenerate if that soul piece is removed from the reality that his 'shadow' is in. I hope."

It wasn't that reassuring, but Harry trusted Hermione's logic.

Harry was still not sure what he actually wanted in another universe, if he ever was actually sent to one, but decided it was better to humour Hermione's queries. Should he have asked for one where he never existed, maybe where no one he knew well existed, so that he wouldn't have to deal with the pain of knowing someone, but not being known? To start again? Or... should he ask for one where the people he lost were still alive? To try and fit back in with those he'd loved, like his family and some of his friends..

"By interweaving a blood spell, does that mean that it'll find one were a 'Harry Potter' already exists? That'd be the closest match to my blood after all-"

"I've tried to work around that Harry." Hermione cut him off with a '_don't you think I thought of that' _look. "I've chosen a blood spell that specifically finds immediate family, but there is a chance that there is already a 'you' there. You have been working on that cover story I asked you to make, right? After all I've targeted it so that you'll end up in Britain, some where away from people- which was extremely difficult to do by the way- so you'll need to think up an excuse for your lack of records, both magical and muggle."

When Harry hesitated Hermione sighed. Harry _had _tried to think of one, but he'd also been preoccupied with other things, like not being killed and trying to deal with the loss of loved ones. And it didn't seem like there was much point, as this was very unlikely to work. Hermione dusted herself off, standing up and examining the entire drawing she stared at Harry sadly for a moment.

"You'll think of one I suppose. You'll always find a way through things." She bit her lip again, a nervous habit Harry had noticed she'd developed after Ron had gone. "Have you got everything? That book of spells that might come in handy, the one I made for you, spare clothes, money, potions, broom, wand..." Harry could see Hermione check off the mental list in her head and stopped her with a chuckled.

"Yes 'Mione, remember you made sure I had all that, safely shrunk and packed away in my pockets, _before_ you started to make the circle?" Hermione blushed slightly and mumbled something about better being safe then sorry, "I've got Godric Gryffindor's sword. _And _wand, both mine and the Elder wand, as well as the other hallows, all safely tucked away in my mokeskin- just in case and my new Firebolt. Anything else? Fresh underwear? Toothpaste and brush?" Harry grinned as Hermione looked as if she wanted to hit him, but didn't dare step into the circle.

Harry fingered the light weight short-sword that used to belong to one of the four Hogwarts founders. During the last years of the war, it became evident that Harry needed to know any sort of magical and non magical fighting technique he could learn in order to survive. One of which turned out to be the technique of the Spell-sword. It was an old technique, dying out as long ranged styles, mainly using wands, replaced the close combat styles. However, when battling dark wizards _and_ dark creatures- who would not stand away from you and fire spells, but rather run up and attack you physically- it was extremely handy to be able to give a quick melee attack along with a short ranged powerful spell.

Spellswords, like Godric Gryffindor's sword, were designed for such fighting styles. Godric's sword being one of the best- indestructible, imbibes anything that can increase it's strength such as basilisk venom and never dulls. Harry was sure there would be many angry goblins out there, as he permanently took the sword away from them, but they'd get over it. Eventually.

The sword was actually used by Ron, who had died during the war, as he proved to be an excellent spell-sword. Mix basic spells with physical strength in short powerful bursts of magic? Definitely Ron's thing. He was actually a better spell-sword then Harry, so was given Godric's sword, while Harry used another, less powerful (And less decorated) spell sword, that he'd found in the Potter vault.

As for the Elder wand...Harry didn't want it. He didn't want the resurrection stone either. Both of them brought bad luck. But it was decided that he may as well help those he left behind by taking the powerful and cursed hallows with him, as they, especially the Elder wand, only seemed to attract power hungry megalomaniacs. And maybe they could help him in what ever world he ended up in.

It seemed a shame that the other things would be destroyed, like Godric's sword and his vault money. But, in order for this to be as believable as possible, and give a feeling of comfort to those he left behind, it was necessary. At least he managed to talk Hermione into allowing Sirius' vault and it's contents (As well as some of the items in the Potter vault) to be given to support the order of the phoenix and Harry's friends, such as the remaining members of the Weasley family.

Thinking about Ron,Harry realised how alone Hermione would be after this- Both him and Ron would be gone. The golden trio destroyed. Through the stress of having to perform such a complicated spell under pressure, Harry could still see the sadness in Hermione's eyes, and cursed the fact he wasn't allowed to move to comfort her.

"You'll be okay, right, when I'm gone?" Hermione looked up at that, after she'd gone back to looking solemnly over the spell and texts.

"Of course Harry. I'll miss you, we all will, even those idiots who..." Hermione bit her lip again at that, a flash of anger in her eyes, "...I'll be fine. I've been looking into job applications and I know I can get a position in the Ministry of Magic, In the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hopefully I can help change the way things are done, and get better rights."

Harry smiled t the thought of Hermione on a war path, getting better rights and equality for creatures like house-elves. Harry wondered if he'd ever be able to apply as an Auror in this new world. They'd want to have records of him, and of course he wouldn't be able to provide. Hermione managed to redo her newts, but Harry hadn't and the offer to those who participated in the final battle to become an Auror without them wouldn't apply in this other world (Or so he hoped, as he didn't want to be flung into another world that suffered the same as this one).

"Hey, Hermione, do you think It'll be the same time in the other world as it is here?" Harry asked after a thought- after all if this other world was similar to his, did that mean he would be entering a world that was also suffering from a post-war climate? Or would it be different enough that Voldermort never rose to power?

Hermione thought for a bit, "It's hard to say, but I presume not- the spell said that you needed to lock down on a specific location, because if you just went ahead intending for the subject to arrive in the exact same place in the other reality that it was in here, then they may end up in space."

Hermione stopped there thinking it explained things, and had to be prompted by a confused Harry to explain further.

"Look, the universe is continuously moving right? Galaxies, planets, solar systems are always in motion. So if you were to travel back in time or forward in time, intending to arrive in the _exact_ same location in the universe as you are now, then you'd appear in space, as the earth and even the solar system, would have moved by then, if even marginally." Hermione paused staring at Harry till he gave a nod of confirmation, as he did understand that. "Anyway, if the spell is warning that may happen, then obviously the person who created it thinks there is a chance that it could also throw you into a different time from now. Oh, I do wish I had more time to research this thoroughly!"

Hermione threw herself down in the chair near by, massaging her temples, and Harry had to resist the temptation to move to comfort her.

"It'll be fine Hermione. When I get over there I'll find a way to send you a postcard, maybe with picture of your alternate-self. I bet you she wears lots of pink, loves divination and cries and laughs hysterically at the most inappropriate times."

The thought of her alternate-self being like Lavender Brown snapped Hermione out of her spiral of dismay. With a snort she stood up again, checked the spell once again, then motioned to the door.

"I've finished the spell now, so should I go get the others?"

Harry nodded. It was time to say goodbyes.

As Fred, Neville, Mrs. Weasley, Hagrid and surprisingly a few of the Hogwarts teachers as well as Bill and Charlie Weasley, along with Bill's wife Fleur shuffled into the room and stood around the circle. These were some of few survivors of the Second Wizarding War. Even though he was not close with all of them he was thankful they'd came. Waving goodbye to them as Hermione began to chant the activation spell, Harry watched them all.

Mrs. Weasley dragged her remaining sons close to her and looked at Harry as if she was about to loose another one. The Weasley boys gave him sad smiles with a 'give that dimension hell, Harry' from Fred. Hagrid was balling his eyes out next to an uncomfortable and sad looking Fleur. Some of the teachers put on stoic faces, as if they were watching a war hero's funeral, which didn't comfort Harry that much. Hermione's chanting seemed to be coming to a climax.

"_Ineo!"_

The edges of the circle glowed, the chalk turning into sharp light. The light flooded inwards, the complex markings inside the circle appearing to spin and rotate around Harry, until the spiral under Harry's feet glowed and seemed to stretch downwards at an alarming speed. Before Harry could call out something latched onto his feet with a crushing grip and pulled. Apparition felt like he was being pulled through a tight rubber tube. This felt like he was being pulled through the eye of an needle. He thought death was supposed to be quick and easy, once you got through the 'dying' part.

"_I'm coming guys."_

...oo0(~)0oo...

A '_**Thump**_' and a string of curses later Harry, still very much alive, stood up feeling incredibly bruised. Pulling up his Basilisk skin robe, which was lined inside and out with cloth for both comfort and to avoid attention, back Harry looked at his stomach in mild horror. He may be alive now, but if that ugly full-torso bruise hinted at internal injuries as well, he may not be for long.

He attempted to move further from his arrival point, which appeared to be in an uninhabited plain in Scotland (Hopefully, because he didn't want to be somewhere were he had no knowledge of. And it did seem...Scottish.). When he tried to move He realised it wasn't only his torso that had been beaten to a pulp by magical forces. His arms and legs felt like jelly with bits of rotten sticks supporting them.

Ow.

First, Harry got out his shrunk and feather-charmed possessions and agonisingly searched through all of it, till he remembered where he had put his small supply of bruise removal paste, and murtlap essence. While neither could be ingested and heal any internal injuries they'd at least stop Harry from looking like he'd been in a fight against three trolls and provide mild pain relief. He could only hope episky could help repair the worse of any internal injuries.

Finally being able to move without cringing badly, Harry looked around in frustration as he finished putting everything away into his pockets again. He wasn't dead. Could that actually mean he was in another reality? Things still looked normal; green grass, blue sky, black dragon.

Dragon?....

Drag_- FUCK!_

What appeared to be a Hebridean Black was flying towards Harry with what he thought looked like a blend of annoyance, curiosity and dragonish wrath about it. Harry was pretty sure any dragon was wrathful at all times- it just seemed to be a dragon thing to do, but it was never pleasant when it was directed at you. Whipping out his wand, Harry tried to figure out how to avoid being killed by it. What had he learnt about Hebrideans, other then them being the most territorial of the British dragons - of course, they were native to the Hebrides isles! Though he didn't remember any information on how to avoid being eaten by one it none-the-less confirmed he was on the Scottish isles of Hebrides. He just needed to figure out how to escape the dragon before thinking about escaping the island. Perhaps he could do both at the same times.

Before he could gain enough concentration to apparate away from the flying, black, fire-breathing lizard, a couple of men on broomsticks made him instead drop down and quickly tug his invisibility cloak out of his enlarged pocket and over him. Dragons and now men on brooms? Why did he get the feeling that his arrival didn't go unnoticed?

The men, who ever they were, were shouting in Gaelic to each other, while firing bright blue hexes at the dragon until it gave up on what ever it was wanting to do near Harry and flew back in the direction it appeared from. The men, now looking around the area in confusion, were still talking in Scottish Gaelic, much to Harry's frustration. Eventually however, one swapped to English, but that didn't comfort Harry much, as the man seemed to speaking into a communication device, making Harry's feeling that his arrival caused a stir worse.

"Ministry o' Magic? Yeah, Brain MacFustyhere. Thare's been a disturbance oot in Eilean siar, ooter Hebrides, in the Hebridean black reserve? Naw, no muggles, just a magical disturbance, got the blacks riled up. Aye, strang surge o' magic, cannae find the source. Richt, I'll go to yer investigator then, the radio's losing it's charge."

The men conversed in Gaelic again, seemingly annoyed about something and the one who talked on what Harry guessed was a magical radio, unless the ministry of magic decided to adopt muggle technology, flew off, leaving the others to continue exploring.

Harry could understand that enough to know that 1) he'd ended up on a Hebridean Black reserve, which made sense as Hermione did try to find a place away from people in Britain and places away from people are used for magical creature reserves. And 2) His arrival caused a stir and magical surge, the Ministry of Magic was involved and he should really get out of here.

Despite trying to apparate earlier, Harry was dreading apparating in such a tender state and hoped that in this alternate universe locations were still the same, or he'd risk getting splinched along with being bruised.

Focusing, Harry hoped that Hogsmead station hadn't changed location.

A sharp '_Pop' _rang out as Harry appeared at the busy station, still under his Invisibility cloak, which made a few of the people near by look around for the person who had apparated in. Harry wondered if he should have just apparated without the cloak on, as he dodged around people to a more hidden area, and pulling it off while glancing around. Part of him had still hoped that he was still in his world, and had just been transported to a random place in the British isles, but looking around dispelled that. Unless in the last few days fashion had changed in the wizarding world, the unfamilair wizard robes and clothing appeared to be a sign of this being an alternate reality. While Harry wasn't an expert on wizard clothing he could still tell this style was different- the traditional pointed and brimmed 'witches hat' seemed also to be popular amongst the males of the wizarding and travelling cloaks seemed to clasp on the shoulder rather then below the neck.

Harry pulled up the hood of his own travelling cloak and hoped his own clothing wouldn't draw too much attention to him. Maybe he could pass himself off as a wizard from another culture? His languages skills, minus the unearnt parseltounge, were poor and he couldn't put on a fake accent to save his life. Maybe he could claim he was from a British family in America.

However it didn't seem like he was drawing too much attention- Hogsmead was purely a wizarding town, _the _only pure wizarding village in it could be that unlike muggles, wizards didn't pick up on such fashion inconsistencies or maybe they passed him off as a muggle-born with no knowledge of proper wizarding wear.

As Harry continued to explore the fact that this was an alternate universe became all too apparent. Shops were on the opposite sides or had moved down or up a space from where they used to be, fashion was different, songs he'd never heard before were being played by magical devices... Damn. Harry hadn't wanted this. He'd wanted to die and go back to _his _family, _his _friends. If he died here, would he go to his own afterlife, or this world's? Would he see his loved ones again, the ones that he knew and knew him? _Were _there even separate afterlives for each dimension?

Harry frustratedly ruffled his hair under his hood before tugging it back down, further over his face, and decided he could do with butterbeer and a place to rest. Once he'd found where the Three broomsticks had moved too, of course. He thought about going to the Hogshead instead, as hooded shady customers were the norm there, but it didn't offer rooms and well... Harry couldn't imagine the Hogshead being any more pleasant in this world then his.

The blast of warm air from inside the pub made Harry shudder happily. During his war this place had lost some of it's cheer- it was good to see it full of people and the smell of pub food and drinks again.

Glancing out of the corners of his eyes, Harry checked the small area of the pub he could see for people he knew, while ordering his butterbeer. He noticed Rosmerta didn't greet him as friendly as she used to, even when he'd first met her, and worried the his hood wouldn't be as accepted as he hoped.

"Anything else? You look like the chill followed you in, with that hood up." Rosmerta added the not so subtle hint on as she bent to look into Harry's face, almost to hint at another reasons he should pull it down.

Harry bent his own head and passed it off as a chuckle. He didn't want to be paranoid and attempt to hide his face from everyone, but he knew he looked like his father and if there was another Harry or a James in this world and he didn't want to raise suspicion if someone recognised his features.

"It is chilly, isn't it? I was wondering if you had any rooms spare... oh, and do you have a copy of the Daily Prophet?".

Rosmerta nodded, but looked slightly annoyed at the fact Harry hadn't lowered his hood. "I do have a room spare, just you is it?"

It was Harry's turn to nod, and Rosmerta passed over a butterbeer and key. "The room is No. 7, it'll be 5 galleons and 13 sickles a night, and the Daily Prophet will be on one of the common tables. 6 galleons and 11 sickles please."

Harry fished the money out of his extended holding and feather charmed pouch, before taking the two offered items with a polite nod. Heading over to common tables, Harry snatched up an issue of the magical newspaper before moving to one of the more secluded tables. He thought back to why he hid his face from Rosmerta. His parents might be alive.

Newspaper and drink forgotten for the moment, Harry mulled that information over in his head. Lily and James Potter alive. Maybe even Sirius, Remus and the others... Ron, Luna, Ginny...Himself? How would he, _should he_, react to any of them? Seeing his dead parents who will only see him as a frighteningly familiar stranger. Seeing an alternate Harry. Should he even try to talk to them? Maybe he could watch them from afar, see the life he never had... Or he could try and befriend them, all the while trying to hide the fact he was their son from another universe.

Should he even consider them his parents? His parents, although dead, loved him and he knew they watched over him. These people, if they were alive, wouldn't know anything about him. But even so, he knew he wouldn't be content with watching them from afar. He could get to know his father, properly and not just from other peoples tales, memories and photos. He could actually get to know his own mother, something any child should be allowed.

He pulled out of his thoughts. He was in an alternate reality- the questions were endless and could not all be answered right at that moment. He took his first sip of the butterscotch tasting drink and glanced over the newspaper, pausing when he noticed the date. The date being 1994, 30th of October.

Harry's 4th year at Hogwarts, when the Triwizard Tournament happened. His alternate self should only be 14 years old. How...weird. A younger him. Would his alternate self, if he existed at all, be The-Boy-Who-Lived or just an ordinary student? Would he, in a few days times be put into the event that changed Harry's life dramatically? Before Harry could actually read the article a voice that was vaguely familiar caught his attention, and Harry looked up to see himself storm to a table near him, followed by Luna and Neville, and giving the oppotunity for Harry to find answers to his quetions.

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Ah, slow start. Introductions are needed though, m'thinks, so I left it at this for now. I'm not sure if anything needs addressing yet, but please, review, makes criticism, comments, questions- Anything! I've kinda felt like I might of overloaded you with info....

I should update soon, (maybe next tue?) as I've written some of the chapters in advance (Because my writing phases are sporadic and if left to update as I write it could be months in between updates) -oh And any questions, seriously. They help, not only because it helps you and the other readers understand the Fanfic but also helps me figure things out and plan stuff more. Well, I'm optimistic bout this story. Hopes it works out all fine. Hope you're enjoying this so far. I'm trying not to give an information overload, so I hope it doesn't come off that way. Don't worry, things will perk up soon. It's Harry after all- he has a sign above him saying 'try and kill me- it's fun'.


	2. Charlus

(Don't forget to check my profile for Review replies.)

Previously-_Harry gets sent to an alternate universe so that Voldermort could not rise again in his already war shattered world. Harry didn't actually expect the spell to work, but after having to dodge dragons and find his way around a rearranged Hogsmeade he realises his mistake. Especially now he's sitting in the Three Broomsticks looking at his alternative self_.

* * *

It was almost as bizarre as that time his friends, (and Mundungus) took the polyjuice potion to look like him and act as decoys. Though, rather than six other Harry's there was only one. None the less, the fact that this _was _actually another Harry made it pretty damn weird. Harry found himself quickly picking out the differences, instead of the similarities.

The first thing Harry noticed about the boy was the fact he was wearing Ravenclaw blues instead of Gryffindor reds. He also appeared to be somewhat taller and more filled out then Harry was at that age.

Harry craned his head a little to see if he could spot whether this alter-Harry had the scar or not, but had to quickly lean back and appear to focus on his issue of The Daily Prophet, as the boy glanced around him to see if anyone was paying attention to the trio. Sastified that no one was watching them, Harry being partially hidden by a support beam, the Alter-Harry sat down with a frustrated growl. Harry was glad his table was partially hidden by the decorated beam, or as a hooded man he might of made the alter-Harry suspicious.

"It's not that bad Charlus, really, they're just trying to protect you." The nervous Neville commented, sliding into a his chair with a quick glance around, speaking to alter-Harry in what was supposed to be a reassuring tone. Neville looked the about the same as Harry's Neville, still in Gryffindor, but not as chubby as he was in Harry's world.

Wait...Charlus? Harry cocked his head at that, confused. Wasn't this his alter-self? How different was this reality? How could one change supposedly effect all this- the locations, names, houses, people changes? It had to be multiple events to have branched this reality so far off from his own. Maybe this reality was the nephew of the daughter of the third cousin, twice removed, of Harry's world.

Charlus... Harry was happy his parents decided not to curse him with such a name.

" I don't think they are trying to hurt your feelings, Charlus, but some of them are Aurors and they can be quite secretive- They've been trying to keep the Dragonfoot conspiracy hidden for some time now." Luna commented serenely, as she carefully flattened out the bottle cap of her butterbeer, something else that was different in this world as Harry remembered butterbeers having corks. He briefly wondered if the 'Dragonfoot' conspiracy was this worlds version of the 'Rotfang' conspiracy. It was almost relieving to see that Luna had changed very little, still holding strange beliefs and a unique madness.

Alter-Harry, or Charlus as he seemed to be called, calmed down a bit and smiled at Luna's comment.

" I know, it's just... They're keeping something from me and I'm sure it's about that young Death Eater. I just don't see why they don't trust me! It's not like I'm too stupid to understand these things!" Charlus shook his head angrily and Harry was startled that Death Eaters had already become so active to be able to claim young members. What was even more worrying was that there _were _Death Eaters in this world. It wasn't that unexpected but he had hoped that this world wouldn't be stricken by war.

While Neville attempted to think of a reason, Luna interrupted his broken argument with her own, "People tend to keep secrets from those they care about, often to save them from harm. I'm sure what ever they aren't telling you will be revealed when the time is right. They don't think you're unintelligent, they know you're smart and that's why it's so hard to try and protect you from the truth." Luna smiled at the mildly confused Charlus and Neville before frowning at the bottle cap she had just threaded onto a whole chain of them, "I wish they had corks. Bottle caps can only keep away Wrackspurts, and I've been having some difficulties involving Nargles recently."

Charlus and Neville looked mildly amused and Neville seemed to use the brief distraction to change subjects.

"So, are you disappointed they cancelled the Triwizard Tournament?" It was said with a little too much eagerness but it seemed a sincere question enough.

"Slighty, but seeing as I wouldn't of been able to join anyway, it's not a _huge_ loss. Anyway with the amount of attacks going on, both on Hogwarts and in England in general, I don't think they'd risk taking whole groups of students and putting them into an already dangerous event, as well as the risk of security compromises, as the whole school would be focused entirely on the tournament." Charlus brushed his hand through his hair, ruffling it even more then it was.

"Yeah, but Hogwarts is one of the safest places to be isn't it?" Neville prompted, while Luna was dreamily looked around the tavern before Harry caught her eye.

"Oh, from a 'military' standpoint, I guess, seeing as it's got strong wards, escape tunnels, near indestructibility, powerful witches and wizards- But from a political standpoint, it's very unstable. Not that the tournament would upset anything in that way, but with the amount of pure-blood purists and Death Eater sympathisers in the Ministry, it wouldn't be impossible for them to try and take Dumbledore out of power and once that happens, well..." Charlus explained causally, as if he'd given a lot of thought into the matter and the ideas now bored him. However Harry wasn't paying much attention to how Ravenclaw his counterpart was being, or the fact that Dumbledore was alive, as Luna was now curiously examining him and he had a sinking feeling she was about to point out his existence to the other two, no matter how hard he tried to look as if he was and always had been focused on the newspaper in front of him.

"Are you trying to keep the wrackspurts out? I've heard some people try to wear hoods to keep the wrackspurts from their ears, but bottle cap chains work much better." Charlus and Neville turned to see who Luna was addressing and instantly gave Harry a suspicious glare. Charlus seemed to be surprised and angry he hadn't noticed Harry. Harry couldn't quite think of what a totally-innocent-not-listening-into-your-conversation-person-who-doesn't-know-you-from-another-reality would reply to such a question.

"Uh... Wrackspurts?" Harry attempted., trying to deepen his voice further to make sure none of them could even try to link it to Charlus'.

"They fly into your head, through your ears, and make your brain fuzzy. Didn't you know about them? I didn't know that having your hood up inside offered any other benefits." Luna smiled kindly, but Harry wasn't fooled. This Luna was remarkably similar to the one from his world, a little on the odd and dreamy side, but put into Ravenclaw for a reason. Luna's ability to notice things and seem oblivious and non-threatening at the same time was uncanny. If anyone else had randomly commented on someone's attempt to hide their face, the person accused would instantly go on guard, but Luna's odd way of asking about it seemed too innocent a query to earn hostility or open cautiousness.

"It... Blocks out most of the sound. I find it easier to concentrate with out so much noise, but I'd rather stay in here anyway- I like the atmosphere in here." Harry calmly tried to think of a good reason as to why anyone would wear a hood up inside, well other than to hide their face of course. "And I'll be sure to... keep an eye out for these... wrackspurts."

"Oh, they're invisible. You'll want Spectrespecs, if you plan to look for them." She replied helpfully, seemingly brightening up at the thought of him actually believing in wrackspurts. Neville seemed a little confused, but followed Charlus' example by staying wary.

"You could have cast a silencing charm around you, if you wanted silence." Charlus lent forward slightly, to examine Harry from around Luna, and Harry could see that he wasn't bearing the scar. That information almost made him smile, as now he knew that his counterpart wasn't The-Boy-Who-Lived, but he'd have to defend himself now and ponder on it later. He knew Charlus was implying that he shouldn't be wearing a hood, after all silencing charm would put someone in danger as they couldn't hear what was happening around them, and Charlus should be smart enough to realise this.

"Of course, and that wouldn't look suspicious at all." Harry hoped that the comment would be taken as a barb against them being suspicious about his hood, rather then make them even more distrustful of him. "However, you're right, there are better ways of finding a quieter place to read. So I'll bid you three good evening."At that Harry got up, picking up his butterbeer and newspaper as he did so, and left before they could examine and interrogate him further.

Upon reaching his room, Harry dropped down on the bed holding his head. He couldn't let go of the fact that this was a completely new world. Familiar, yet all too different. His alternative self was a Ravenclaw named Charlus, friends with Luna and Neville rather then Hermione and Ron, so it seemed. Places were rearranged. Events had changed, people had changed... How was he going to cope in this world? Yes, it was set in the past, as for some reason the spell sent him 'diagonally' rather then 'sideways', but it wasn't like he could use his own experiences to help him. The Triwizard Tournament didn't even seem to be happening, so Harry was confused as to how Voldermort was to regain his body... Unless... Charlus didn't have the scar, but neither did Neville, so was it possible that Voldermort never destroyed himself as he had in Harry's world?

Did the prophecy exist in this world? Or was there another boy or girl who lived and maybe Voldermort had managed to use the philosophers stone, or his diary, to come back already... or maybe he hadn't regained his body at all yet.... Or- No, There were far to many possibilities to think on, if this world was as different as he thought.

Harry sighed. This _really_ wasn't what he wanted. Yes, he had to chance to be with those he lost, but he had the handicap of being a stranger who looked like someone they already knew. If someone like himself turned up in his own world, he would definitely be suspicious of them, thinking them to be a Death Eater of some sort. And there was now the issue of what to do, now he wasn't sentenced to die. Jobs would be hard to get, even though he didn't have to worry about that too much, with a good deal of the potter fortune in his charmed mokeskin pouch, but he'd have to find something to do with his time. Dumbledore was alive- If there was anyone who would give him a chance it would be Dumbledore. Perhaps he could try and get a job as the Defence against the Dark arts teacher, as there was a good chance that the position was just as hard to keep hold of as it was in his world. And where was he going to stay? Grimmauld place would still be occupied by this time surely. That reminded him- Where was Sirius? Dead, alive, imprisoned, free?

Harry's head started to hurt at the thought of it all. But deciding he could handle a stronger head ache he picked up the Daily Prophet.

It turns out that Death Eaters really were active here. Attacks on muggles and muggle-borns were as high as they were when Harry was in his sixth year. More disturbing was the fact that the news was focusing so much on this 'young Death Eater', who Charlus had mentioned. Appearently this youth was responsible for a great amount of the attacks and murders of the more high-profile cases, such as those on Aurors, Ministry Members and wizards other then muggleborns. He'd been labelled, not surprisingly by Rita Skeeter, As the Dark Lords right hand and was even rumoured to be his _heir._ As much as Harry thought that was the stupidest claim that he's heard, with Tom seemingly being asexual, it was linked to an interesting fact: The Dark Lord had been dormant for around 8 years, 3 years shorter then he'd been in Harry's world, but apparently was thought to be in hiding rather then dead, after being unable to kill The-Boy-Who-Lived, Charlus Potter. Supposedly this absence was due to him raising the Child Death Eater to be a human weapon.

That was far more confusing then it should be. Charlus _was _The-Boy-Who-Lived? But he didn't have the scar! How was he labelled The-Boy-Who-Lived when there wasn't evidence of being attacked by the killing curse? Harry tried to find more information on Charlus, but it seemed that the story on him was too old or well known for it to be repeated in recent news. But it did answer previous questions on Tom's activities in this world- Voldermort had been dormant, but apparently alive. That could explain why Death Eater attacks were so high, if they'd never been forced into hiding, but simply experienced a slight drop in activity for 8 years while their Dark Lord, according to Rita, baby-sat. Harry didn't believe a word of the reasons they put forward, but the facts were still there.

Still, this 'Right Hand of Voldermort' was worrying. Harry at first, when Charlus talked about him, had a slight inkling that it would be Draco, but Draco was never dark or skilled enough to be a well trained assassin as this person was. But who else could it be? If the order was trying to hide information about him from Charlus, that must mean that the person is important to Charlus somehow. The Order hid information about Sirius from Harry, at first, to stop Harry from hunting him down in a fit of rage. Could it be similar for this person? That he'd done something more then what the newspapers talked about, something that would warrant Charlus' attention?

Butterbeer long since finished, Harry held his head in his hands, frustrated and tired. He was still sore from the journey here and the information overload was stressful. Harry changed into something more comfortable, unshrinking his extended travel trunk and packed away his items, except for Godric's sword and Harry's wand. He left his trunk enlarged and kept the weapons close. This way, if for whatever reason, someone tried to rob him, he could protect himself and they wouldn't be able to break into the warded trunk or attempt to steal the whole thing, without Harry noticing.

...oo0(~)0oo...

Sleep only rested Harry's body, as a weird dream involving Harry having to run round Hogwarts throwing anti-polyjuice potions (something he was sure didn't exist) at fake Harrys, who were marked by not having a scar, tomented him. The weirdest part though, was that Tom Riddle, much older then he appeared in the chamber of secrets, but looked different from his regenerated body, was walking calmly around Hogwarts, smiling at Harry's activities.

Feeling slightly better then the day before, Harry thought over his situation while enjoying a breakfast of pumpkin pasties in his room, a treat he hadn't had for a while. He'd gotten a curious look from Rosmerta, who also looked annoyed and wary after he'd come down wearing his hood again, when he'd order pumpkin pasties for breakfast. However, as it wasn't too rare to came across adults who enjoyed sweet foods over savoury, in the wizarding world, she didn't make a comment on it.

His Situation was this. He has a place to stay, even if temporary, so he didn't have to worry too much about that, though it would be better to get a safer location where he could disappear to and store his possessions. Carrying them around, in case of someone breaking into his room or being unable to return to it, would get annoying after awhile.

He needed a better disguise. Wearing a hood drew too much attention. Though it wouldn't feel right to disguise himself completely. He'd had enough issues with identity, with people seeing him as The-Boy-Who-Lived rather then Harry, so he didn't want to change his face, eye colour or hair colour. He supposed he could go for a dark brown, rather then having black hair. Or he could grow his hair long. He'd already stopped wearing glasses, as they had a habit of being broken too often. That might help take away from the similarities he would have with Charlus or James Potter. It wouldn't bother him to cover his scar, but he wasn't sure if that'd help or not, if The Boy Who Lived in this world didn't make that scar famous.

He needed a plan. He couldn't live in the Three Broomsticks for the rest of his life here, twiddling his thumbs. While he had been happy to, in one way of putting it, commit suicide, he didn't want to risk ending up in the after life where he knew no one at all. So either he was going to have to plan what he would do in his life here or try and figure out a way to return to his world, and apologise for jerking people around like that. The latter seemed the most unlikely.

He could see it now- 'oh, Hi guys, I know that I had agreed to go to an alternate universe and meet my family there, but actually I only wanted to die. So I came back from the reality you sent me to, because I chickened out of meeting everyone again, so I could off myself here. See ya.'

That would just reverse everything he'd done by coming here. Sure, he'd be dead and with _his _family, but no one would have the comfort of thinking he was actually in another universe, with everyone again.

So, he could either try and change his identity completely, meet new people and start a new life. Or, as he was sure his curiosity would drive him to, he could meet his parents as a friend, help defeat Voldermort and save those he lost in his world.

Meaning he'd have to work on his disguise, so that he could meet them with out wands being drawn on him instantly. Perhaps Hermione knew a spell that would work better then a glamour spell or polyjuice potion. Finishing off his breakfast, Harry rifled through his trunk again, mildly annoyed that he had to keep searching though the incredibly large amount of stuff he had brought with him. You never realise how much you need to have to survive by yourself. Finding the book of spells Hermione gave him he open it to the first page, hoping for a contents index.

"_Harry, if you're reading this, it means you made it to the other world safely._

_ I hope you are in good health and the reality you're in suits you. I know that you'll have a hard time trying to befriend your family and the others, so I packed in some potions and spells to try and help. Your first issue will be appearance, as they will be unlikely to accept you when you look very much like your father, or their possible son, when you are supposedly a stranger. There will be some cosmetic potions and spells inside a blue box in your trunk, third compartment from the right, at the top."_

Harry loved Hermione. Putting the book back in while he looked at this disguise kit, Harry took the box to the adjoined rest room- more of a sink and mirror, as the toilet was downstairs. What people wanted to do for shower or bath, Harry couldn't figure out. Opening the blue box, Harry was surprised by the amount in there. A rolled up parchment of spells, a few boxes labelled, "_Betty's Beauty potions: Permanent Hair Dye (Any colour)", "Bruno's Hair potion- to lengthen or to regrow", _and a magical make-up kit straighteners (and curlers and crimpers and wavers and dreadlock-ers apparently, as the label boasted that it did every style). The spells were a colour charm( _works on anything, be careful when thinking of a colour)_, hair thickening charm and a glamour charm. There was also a note saying "_I'd suggest using the potions, as spells can be detected and dispelled."_

Harry smiled, Hermione was a brilliant witch. Deciding that it would be smarter to grow his hair before dyeing it, he opened the Hair growth potion first. After reading the instructions, most of which was warnings on avoiding contact with anything other then head hair and that to only apply one drop for every inch wanted ( No measurements for how much water to use), Harry tried to figure out how to apply it. This provided a slight problem for Harry, but after enlarging the sinks basin and filling it with warm water, he managed to apply the potion to his head. Though, only after casting an impervious charm on his face, ears, neck and hands. He didn't know if the impervious charm was bad for living tissue, but he'd rather not have hair all over his head and hands.

Pulling out and casting a hot-air charm to dry his hair, and dispel the impervious charm, he looked at his handiwork. His hair now passed his shoulders, stopping between his shoulder blades. It didn't look too bad- with the extra weight his hair didn't flick out in all directions any more, instead looking quiet neat, if a little thick. It wasn't like Sirius' curled hair, or like Lucius' ruler straight, but was his own style; not as neat as Malfoy's, but neater then Hagrid's. Harry cut off some of the fringe and placed a small hair thickening charm on it, so that it could cover his scar and part of his face without looking straggly. He could use some of the mke up to cover the scar, but he'd never used make up before and didn't want to try it now.

After playing around with colours for the dye, Harry finely settled on a deep brown, that could be called black from a distance, with a slight reddish tint. He rinsed out the sink and started the applying process again, though this time there was no need for the Impervious charm, as it only worked on hair and fabrics. It wasn't different enough to make Harry do a double take every time he saw a mirror, but combined with the lengthening, it was different enough for Harry not to look....Harry-ish. He thought about putting stripes or edges of other colours in, but decided it was better not to. In his mind only Tonks could get away with brightly coloured hair at this age.

He left his eyes alone. Something about looking into a mirror and seeing someone else eyes unnerved him. He also left the multi-style straighteners in their box, as the not quite straight locks suited him better then a Malfoy straight any day. After packing everything away, Harry checked the book again.

"_I wasn't sure what you would want so I packed a few things. Be careful with the potions, or they can ruin any fabrics that they touch. I asked you to think of a false identity, but I know you enough to know you probably only half thought of one. My suggestion is to find Dumbledore, as I'm sure he of all people will believe you when you say you're from another reality, and can help with getting you a new life in your new world. If he is dead in that world as well, you'll have problems. It's possible to use magic to forge muggle certificates and registration, but a magical identity will be harder to forge. I tried to do some research and found it's based on magical signatures and wizarding school grades, among the more traditional ways that are used in the muggle world. It could be possible for you to forge a believable muggle identity and try and work from there. I wouldn't suggest you say you've come from another country, as you'd know more about Britain then you would any other. You could claim you were home-schooled, perhaps in a muggle environment, to excuse any lack of knowledge on their wizarding world. Naming a false wizrding school, or trying to find an unheard of one, would mean that you should have records of being there, so you can't use that route. If your guardians were a reserved it could mean you didn't much experience of the wizarding world. I would not suggest you claim your guardians were anti-magic and forced you not to join the wizarding world, as there is a unit in this world that deals with such situations. When thinking of a false name, go with one you can remember, but also one that sounds muggle- I'd suggest Griffiths. Apparently it's a very common name in England and Wales and I like the way it sounds like Gryffin, making it easier for us Gryffindors to remember. I'm not sure what you want to change your first name to, if at all, but I wouldn't advise keeping it as harry, as that could link you to the Potters of that world too much, especially if they called their son that."_

So, even Hermione thought that going to Dumbledore would be the best idea. So that would be his next plan of action. Oh, it would still be risky: As much as Harry respected Dumbledore, he was still a cunning and manipulative wizard. And Harry, walking into there carrying the sword of Grffindor and the Deathly Hallows, looking remarkably like Charlus, in basilisk skin robe and hood would intrigue the old man, though perhaps not in the best way. He was going to have to tell his story convincingly, or Dumbledore might become more of a foe then friend. And Harry would really, really hate having Dumbledore as an enemy.

Shrinking everything down again, except his sword and wand, he tucked the miniature items away into his mokeskin pouch. He may as well go do something now. Maybe see if he could meet Dumbledore today- It sounds like the Triwizard Tournament was cancelled, so perhaps he wouldn't be too busy. As Harry was checking he had everything his fingers brushed over Gryffindor's sword. The beautiful craftsmanship had been wrapped in leather and put into a plain scabbard , specifically for his journey here, so no one would notice it was the famous Sword of Gryffindor. Would Dumbledore notice though? He was annoying perceptive like that. The Hallows (minus the Invisibility cloak which was tucked into an easily reachable pocket out of sight) were safely hidden away in his shrunken travel trunk, so hopefully they wouldn't be noticed.

He should be okay, anyway they would help prove his story, wouldn't they? Hell, Dumbledore could hardly disbelieve him, if Harry popped out the Elder wand, identical to Dumbledore's own copy of the Hallow. With that reassuring thought Harry strolled out of his Inn room, with his hood down, and proceeded to exit the Three Broomsticks, with Rosmerta looking surprised at his sudden unveiling.

Harry's hoodless-ness was short lived though. It was damn cold outside and even with his now longer hair he was freezing. His misconception that Hermione's long, bushy hair could keep her head warm died there and then. Lacking a hat, Harry tugged his hood back up- it wasn't as if it was suspicious, at least not when he was outside in the cold.

One of the first things Harry noticed when walking through Hogsmeade to the trail to Hogwarts was the amount of students mulling around. Then again it was Halloween, and the wizarding community celebrated the holiday more so then the muggle communities in England, so it must be a day off or the weekend. Harry couldn't remember what day it was, other then being the 31st.

The second thing Harry noticed was his father.

Harry stopped, moving close to a building to get out of the way of all the students, and watched James Potter. He couldn't believe it. He was actually alive- living and moving and breathing. James appeared to be waiting for someone, outside of Zonko's Sweet shop. Even though James was doing perfectly mundane things, such as rubbing his hands to warm them and glancing impatiently back into the shop, Harry was fascinated. This was better then any moving photo. He was actually seeing his father, alive and a he should be.

Harry's eyes snapped to the person who'd just come out of Zonko's, receiving a quick hair ruffle from James, and reality crashed down around him again. This wasn't _his _father, this was _Charlus' _father. Not his James. Not his dad. Harry sighed, suddenly feeling very out of place, but went back to watching James and Charlus interact, far too intrigued to leave. This is what life might have been like for him; his father stopping at Hogsmeade on Halloween, buying pranks from Zonko's with him and just enjoying themselves. Rather then making Harry sad, this made a small smile tugged at his lips. He might of never had a chance to see what his life could have been like, a chance to see his parents as they would be around him.

However his moment of reflection and happiness was short lived, as Charlus had spotted him. Harry really needed find out why he stood out so much. Charlus' eyes narrowed and he turned around, appearing to point at something in the shop window and talk about it, but as his eyes glanced back at Harry and James' eyes followed, Harry knew they were talking about him. That was so unfair- He only had his hood up because he was cold, not because he was a creepy stalker or Death Eater. He was tempted to lower his hood when James narrowed his eyes and stood up straight, watching Harry from the corner of his eye, but realised that would practically be admitting he knew he was spotted and what the problem was and would only add to the suspicion of him.

Harry had to look natural- while Dumbledore might believe his tale, James unlikely would. Trying to think of a possible way to make it seem like he wasn't watching them Harry started to walk towards the shop, eyes deliberately set on the door behind them. As he came closer James leaned slightly in front of Charlus, hand moving to be ready to draw his wand and watched Harry cautiously. Harry was almost hurt by this reaction, but had to remind himself that although he might know them, he was a complete stranger to them all. Calmly walking past the two wary males, Harry made his way into the shop, picking up something from the window display- A Poke and Pester toy broom- and went to buy it. Maybe James and Charlus would pass it off as him examining the Zonko products rather then them.

Pocketing the toy broomstick and going to leave, Harry turned around a display only bump into some one coming the other way. James.

"Oh, Sorry about that," Harry's alter-dad didn't sound that apologetic, and his stance wasn't all that friendly either, but Harry wasn't going to call him on it.

"No, no, my fault. Wasn't looking were I was going," It wasn't true of course, as Harry had been looking, but perhaps his polite friendliness could help change James' suspicion of him.

James' stance only relaxed slightly, "Enjoying the holidays then? Looks like you've already got your pranks sorted out for tonight." Harry resisted the urge to come up with a story about what he was planning to do. Harry wasn't an expert on subtle interrogations or the such, but he knew that when people were nervous they tended to reel off explanations and stories. Plus making up a long explanation from the top of his head allowed too much room for mistakes.

"I am. Planning your own then?" Harry smiled a little falsely under his hood, wondering if he should pull it down. It would be what anyone else who wasn't a threat would do, but he didn't know how much of Charlus James would see in him. A father knows his son, right?

James smile only faltered for a second, but the little 'cross-examination' continued, "That I am. Planning one with my son, Charlus, though I'm sure you've heard of him."

Harry actually hadn't heard much, but the Daily Prophet had named him as The-Boy-Who-Lived, so he decided to go on the safer side of things and just pretend he knew his name.

"Oh, so you must be Mr. Potter then." Harry offered his hand, and James took it, smiling a little too strongly.

"That's right, Mr....?" James' smile turned smug. Damn! Harry had walked straight into that one.

"Uh, Griffiths. Harr-_old _Griffiths," Harry had slipped up and had hesitated and knew James had caught both, if the strengthening grip was anything to go by.

" Harrold Griffiths?-" James' next question was cut off as a mass of shouting and screams started not that far away. As Charlus' shout of 'Dad!', distracted James, Harry pulled away and attempted to escape as his not-quite-father turned towards Charlus' panicked voice.

* * *

Hmmm, getting faster. Hope this is all making sense to you- don't worry, things should be explained as the storey goes along. I hope I'm getting Harry right here- it makes sense that if you're sending someone to an alternate universe you make sure they have everything they might need, but Harry's trunk of wonders is becoming a little too... Gary-stew, I believe the term is. I don't want it so that any predicament Harry gets into he just pulls out a convenient item or super skill and flies out of trouble without so much as even a good bye. Maybe I'll have to arrange something to happen to it...

Does Harry wear his hood too much? It's almost like he's trying to copy Altair. I don't want to over use that. And opinions on his appearance change- Yay, neigh?

Yeah- oh and Charlus. Feed back on him is appreciated. I think he's going to be an okay character, but I don't want to pull my fanfiction writers license (similar to an artistic license) to the extremes and make him completely un-Harry-ish. This Author's note is too long. Isn't nasty when you go onto a nice, new _long _chapter of a Fanfic only to find out that half of it is replies and A/Ns? Oh and I probably need a beta. My Grammar is terrible- My english teacher made sure I know that, long with a friendly comment on murdering me over it.


	3. Undoing Plans

Previously-_ Harry gets sent to an alternate universe and goes to Hogsmeade, after dodging dragons and healing from transportation damage, to think his plan of action through. He spots his alternate self, named Charlus. Charlus doesn't have the lightning bolt scar but is still The Boy Who Lived in this world. Still confused and worried about the young Death Eater Charlus had talked about to Neville and Luna, Harry decides he needs help in this world and plans to go to Dumbledore. After lengthening his hair and dyeing it a dark brown Harry heads towards Hogwarts, only to stop when spotting his father, James. However this turns out to be a bad idea, as Charlus, who was with James, recognises Harry as the hooded stranger from before. This leads to a not so pleasant talk with James, but Harry manages to make his get away and keep his identity hidden, when a commotion from outside the shop distracts James._

_

* * *

  
_

"Dad!" James whirled around as his son called out to him, not noticing the hand he'd been gripping pulling free, while the other shouts and screams coming from outside fuelled his panic. He only realised too late that he'd given the hooded stranger, the one who'd been watching his son, the opportunity to get away. Only briefly glancing back into the shop, to try and stop where the stranger went, he ran to see Charlus.

Charlus had moved into the shop door, wand out, and staring down the street with a panicked look on his face. When James moved close to the window, and the end of the street came in view, he could see why. People were running and spells were flying, as silver faced and black robed wizards marched their way through Hogsmeade.

"Death Eaters! Charlus, get behind me- Now!" James didn't wait for his son to obey, dragging him further into the shop. This shouldn't be happening- Hogsmeade was supposed to be safe! That's why he'd allowed Charlus to go during school time and why the family had come up here to celebrate Halloween together for the weekend. And now the wizarding village, full of Hogwarts students and families celebrating Halloween, was under attack. Still holding his son, James tried to apparate. While that would leave many of the people who couldn't apparate with one less wand to help, James' son and family was his first priority. When nothing happened though, James cursed and searched his pockets for his Chocolate frog card.

"Dad, Mum and Connor are still at the Three Broomsticks. We need to get to them!" Charlus reminded his father as he ducked behind one of the displays as a stray spell hit Zonko's window. While the spell enforced glass would be able to cope with most magic, the dark curse reduced it to sharp flying shards in seconds.

" I know- Damn it!" James joined his son behind the display, many of the other people in the shop following their example, "Look, when I say go, get behind me and start running. If we get caught, you run, understand? Let me handle them."

"But!-" Charlus' protests were cut short when his father glared at him.

"No- I know you can fight son, but I'm your father and you'll do as I say. Now- ready, set...."

On the shout of 'Go' the two raced off into the streets, both casting 'Protego!' as they went. Although they didn't head up the street the Death Eaters were coming from, they only got a short distance both they were noticed. The many spells flying around became concentrated at them instead. There was no way they'd make it too the Three Broomsticks without drawing the Death Eaters there.

James pulled Charlus behind a garden fence, firing counter curses and jinxes at any Death Eater who got too audacious and made an attempt at them. With anti-apparition wards up no-one could apparate in or out of Hogsmeade and there was a chance that the Floo system was out as well. Which meant people had to hold their own for some time before help arrived. Hopefully word would get to Hogswarts quickly and they could send help. When the Death Eaters began to surround them James tugged Charlus, who was helping in the defence of their position, towards him, both to get his attention and to pull him out of eye sight.

"Remember what I said? Go, now, cast a disillusionment charm and take the back alleys- Don't stop, get to your mother." James paused to fire a curse, allowing Charlus to voice his disapproval.

"Dad, I can fight and I'll be safer with you! Trust me!" Charlus refused to run off during a battle, especially when he really did believe they'd be safe together.

"No- You will go now. As long as I'm here, they won't realise you've gone. I can handle myself, but I can't look out for you too- You're they're main target and each one wants the glory of killing you- Now, go!" James pushed Charlus towards the fence, and continued defending that spot. Only three Death Eaters had fallen and many more of the unmoving bodies on the ground were students and villagers.

...oo0(~)0oo...

Charlus cast the spell and ran, pushing over the fence and heading down the open pathways between the houses. His father's comment stung and made him feel like a liability. Wasn't he supposed to be The-Boy-Who-Lived? The one who could defeat Voldermort? As much as he hated having that duty landed on him he hated even more when people didn't think he could live up to it.

He knew his father could protect himself, but it didn't feel right to have to run like a coward. He was no Gryffindor, like his father, but he still wanted to prove that he wasn't a dumb helpless kid. His parents were too over protective of him, just because of what happened to his brother...

Charlus skidded to a halt as footsteps came towards him, from the direction he was running in. But... there wasn't anyone there. Disillusionment charms could stop people from seeing you, from afar, but close up they could see the tell tale blur of light that gave it away. So who ever the advancing footsteps belonged too either had a damn good invisibility cloak or had some seriously powerful magic. Either way Charlus was in danger, and they must be able to see him by now. Back stepping Charlus stopped again when another set of footsteps echoed quickly from the path behind him.

Before Charlus could cast 'Homenum Revelio' on the invisible man or test fate with who ever the other pair belonged to, a hand clamped over his mouth and cloth fell over him. His attacker dragged him back the way he was going, before shoving them both into a narrow indent in the walls, too small to fully fit them both in, so their left sides stuck out marginally.

Charlus struggled and his captor cursed quietly, wrapping his other arm around Charlus', and bending lower- and in doing so leant over Charlus, making him feel extremely uncomfortable, not only because of the position but because of the violation of his personal space. What ever the cloth was it was covering both of them and Charlus could feel it brushing his robes by his ankles.

When the owner of the other set of footsteps turned round the corner, Charlus felt a bloom of hope- Dad! He tried to call out to him, but only managed a 'Mmm!', to which he was only rewarded with a quietly hissed command to shut it from however held him. When James eyes widen and his wand aimed towards them, Charlus almost sighed out in relief with the thought that he'd spotted them.

Though when a red stunning spell flew off behind him, he knew his father had spotted someone else. Charlus and his captor froze as the Death Eater his father was aiming at stepped into eyesight, almost next to them and if the alley had been any narrower they'd have been brushing shoulders. As his father duelled the lone dark wizard, Charlus carefully moved one of his feet up-

"Stupefy!" The Death -Eater fell to the ground as the red charm bleed into his body, knocking him out.

-And bought the foot, and the heel of the dragon hide boots he was wearing, against his captors shin, giving him enough time to pull away from the hand and call out to James, while his swearing captor was briefly stunned by the sudden pain.

James' head snapped towards the cry, and Charlus did his best to shake out of the now fluently cussing man's hold. While he didn't get free, he dislodged what ever kind of invisibility cloak was on them and he saw his fathers eyes darken as they saw Charlus and the man.

"Release him!" Charlus' captor didn't get much of a chance as an expelliarmus hit the wall behind him, shattering debris on them.

"What but I'm no-" What ever the Man was going to say was cut off as Charlus elbowed him in the stomach and the man was finally distracted enough to loosen his grip. Charlus pulled away and ran to be beside his father, pointing his own wand at the man who had drawn his wand as well.

What excuse the man was going to say was meaningless now, as spells were swapped, the man having to back away from the two wizards. It was only now Charlus realised it was the Hooded stranger that had been listening in on him and the others yesterday and had been spying on him.

...oo0(~)0oo...

Harry really didn't like this alternate universe.

As soon as James had loosened his grip back in Zonko's, Harry had moved further back and whipped the Invisibility cloak out. While he didn't know if he wanted to get involved in this war, he still wanted to make sure that his alter family would be okay and so he followed James and Charlus.

He only had to rethink his plan when it became near impossible to walk in the open with out the chance of being spotted- with curses and jinxes flying in every direction Harry couldn't risk running through the battle field while trying to stay hidden under the cloak. He'd seen the two dive behind the fence from afar and had also noticed how the fence wobbled and that Charlus no longer continued to help fight. Figuring that Charlus had some how made a break for it Harry set off, hoping to make sure the young Ravenclaw stayed alive.

Harry had headed though the back streets, hoping that he might be able to catch up with Charlus. He wasn't particularly surprised that Death Eaters were also using this back path, though he was still confused as to why and how Voldermort had the boldness to attack Hogsmeade. Though his thoughts were interrupted when he nearly ran into a Disillusioned person, who up close looked like the blurred outline of Charlus. Harry had to curse his luck- especially when it seemed someone was following Charlus, and there was a high chance it was another Death Eater.

Choosing to be safe rather then sorry, Harry had grabbed who he hoped was Charlus, maneuvering the cloak over them both, and pulling into a hollow, out of the way of the oncoming Death Eaters.

But Harry always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Instead of a Death Eater, James had come around the corner, with a look of worry- which quickly turned into hostility and Harry knew he had spotted the actual Death Eater. However seeing his father seemed to increase Charlus' fighting spirit and after the Death Eater was defeated, kicked Harry sharply in the shin and managed to get James' attention.

Which was why Harry was duelling his _father_, of all people. It wasn't fair! He wasn't the bad guy here, he had helped... kind of. Admittedly Charlus would have been fine if he had back tracked into his father, but Harry had done the responsible thing and been on the safe side of things. He couldn't even explain himself, as they'd started casting as soon as he'd tried to speak after loosing Charlus. Sure, it might have been the smarter thing to not have drawn his wand, or maybe he could of dispatched that bloody Death Eater and have avoided this mess.

As he was doubled teamed by the two skilled wizards, Harry had to retreat down the alley, barely managing to not trip over the fallen form of the Death Eater. He managed to Accio his fallen cloak to himself, and could only pray James didn't notice the similarities or hold the knowledge of what his cloak really was. He could of held his own in an offensive duel, but he had no wish to harm either of his blood relatives. Instead he was attempting hit them with stunning spells, one they could easily escape from, but would gain Harry enough time to flee. Harry's left hand kept heading towards the sword resting in it's scabbard, on reflex, but he resisted, instead keeping up the dance of the duel.

However, in such a cramped area, Harry had very little space to dodge in, while the other two took turns defending and attacking, giving Harry very little chance to hit them. It wasn't soon before an expelliarmus hit his shoulder, knocking it back, but it was mostly absorbed by the basilisk skin and probably only gave a mild bruise to the skin underneath . The two attacking wizards looked startled as the magic crackled and danced around Harry's shoulder, seeming to have little effect, before fading into the air.

After the unintentional display of power on Harry's part, the two increased the offensiveness of their spells and Harry decided he had to make a break for it. Casting 'bombarda' at the wall beside them, causing a flurry of debris to rain down between him and the other the two and giving him a chance to flee. He still hadn't recovered completely from the journey here, and the fight had taken it's toll on him.

Spells still fired at him as he swerved through the tight alley ways, one occasionally catching him, putting him off balance and knocking him into a wall. He couldn't tell if it was James and Charlus still hunting him, but the voices casting the still felt familiar. The annoying part was the Death Eaters, who were confused as to whether they should help someone being attacked by the 'light' side, weren't attacking him, which would only increase suspicion of him being an agent of the Dark Lord.

As it turned out those familiar voices belonged to Aurors, including Shackelbolt and Tonks. While it wasn't surprising that Aurors had turned up and Harry's heart gave a jump at seeing them again, their timing couldn't be worse. No doubt James and Charlus had already passed on the message of the 'Dangerous Hooded Man', or he had been seen duelling and fleeing from them. Harry was now relying on all his skills to evade the occasional witch or wizard trying to help fight, along with the few Aurors that had arrived. What Harry was noticing as he ran, though, didn't help him- the Death Eaters seemed to retreat as soon as the Aurors began arriving, escaping through portkeys. This didn't help because this meant only a few straggling Death Eaters were here to distract the Aurors from Harry.

"There he is! Moody, cut him off!" Tonks' voice was not as welcome as it should be. While Harry was elated to know that they were alive in this world, he didn't appreciate being labelled a Death Eater.

Harry barely braked in his sprint for freedom as a red stupefy curse just missed his head. It flew in front of his face, briefly blinding him and make his skin prickle painfully. If it had hit him full on, as a head shot, it would of hurt even more- even with the basilisk skin hood and robe. This small pause in movement allowed for even more spells to hit him, irritating the left over soreness from the cross-dimensional travel and knocking him off balance. Some spells, like 'petrificus totalus' and the amount of stupefies hitting him began to slow him down.

"You thought you could escape, did you? What, you forgot to bring a portkey with you, like all the other Death Eater cowards?" The gruff British voice of Alastor Moody mocked Harry. The click of a wooden leg moved towards him and at any other time, Harry would have welcomed it.

Harry managed to stand up and continued to move, casting a stupefy at the Ex-Auror, wondering if there was a chance this could still be Barty Crouch Jr. like it was during this time in his own world, but dismissed it. Why would Barty try and infiltrate Hogwarts to get Har- Charlus, if Voldermort wasn't missing his body? However it would have been easier to defend himself if he thought it was Barty, as he wouldn't have had to hold back.

Now there was less Death Eaters about, Harry could use slightly more offensive spells, such as longer lasting stunning and disarming spells, with out the risk of putting the alternate versions of his friends at the mercy of a Death Eater. However, he was now being ganged up on by Order members and Aurors. Panting heavily , Harry continued to run- there was no use in trying to stop and explain himself, as Moody would _never_ believe him. The Anti-apparition wards were still in place and Harry couldn't use his broomstick to escape, as he'd be too easy a target. Instead Harry had to try desperate measures.

Still being hounded by familiar and unfamiliar faces, Harry broke into house by using bombarda on a window and quickly tested to see if the Floo was working. It wasn't. Cursing, Harry proceeded upstairs, thankful that the owners weren't home at least, and used an imperturbable charm on the door of the room he ran into. Hopefully that would stall the Aurors for a while, though he could already here their angry voices giving commands such as 'try the window', 'blast the door down' and simply 'don't let him escape!'.

Harry glanced around the room, a young girls bedroom judging by the amount pink objects and stuffed magical toys. He needed something that wouldn't be missed, as it didn't feel right stealing from a little girl anyhow, so the least he could do was take something the would be meaningless. He quickly decided that one sock wouldn't be important and picked it up.

The door shuddered violently. While he was pleased that his spell could resist finite incantatem, he still had very little time to escape, and if this failed then he'd be caught for sure- his invisibility cloak was useless against Moody's magic eye. He focused his energy on the frilly sock, and tried to think of a safe place to escape the Aurors. Diagon alley? It'd be too predictable and he could easily be traced to it and chased there too. Grimmauld place? No, it wasn't _his_ safe house...

It needed to be a place he knew the address of, and picture clearly as he was not practiced with this spell, and with the way this alternate universe swapped things around it would be even more difficult. The door was splintering now. '_Surrey, Little Whining, Privet Drive, Number 4' _ Harry repeated this over in his head while imagining his Aunt and Uncle's house from the outside clearly. A chunk of wood flew from the door.

"Portus!" Harry pointed his wand at the clothing article, but nothing happened. Portus was an extremely difficult spell, but he had to cast it. He had to, or who knows what would happen when he was caught.

_'Come on, come on!'. _Harry tried it again, and just as the door gave in, the familiar feeling of being hooked behind his navel set in, dragging him to this worlds version of the Dursley household.

_..._

Harry landed with a harsh 'Thwump' in well trimmed bushes. He dropped the sock and quickly made to move out of the garden he had appeared in, just next to the Dursley's house. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd chosen this place, of all places, but at least he knew the place well enough to be able to cast a portus spell. He felt a little chuffed with himself, to be honest. However he was sure that it was traceable, so he had to get out of here now. It was probably a good thing he chose a muggle residence, as Aurors wouldn't risk pouring into a muggle community and risking the statute of secrecy.

Speaking of which, did anyone see him? He couldn't see anyone watching him, and moved to a more hidden spot, before finding his shrunk broomstick amongst his items. Casting a disillusionment charm on himself, Harry took off, getting away from his point of arrival as soon as possible. He didn't have the energy to apparate and he needed time to think.

His plans had all gone down the drain. He no longer had a place to stay, as the Three Broomsticks was now off limits and he had been labelled as an enemy by Aurors and Order members, meaning getting to Dumbledore would be so much harder. He still needed to get to Dumbledore, as he was his best chance at sorting this whole mess out. On the upside, only Rosmerta saw his face, and she couldn't have gotten a good look at it. There was a chance no one would know who he was when he had his hood down (and altered his robe). That was uplifting. Perhaps he hadn't destroyed his chance as meeting his family.

Pondering on the days events, such as the behaviour of the Death Eaters, it wasn't too long before Harry spotted the jagged skyline of London. Gently circling down, Harry made his way to the Leaky Cauldron. Hopefully, with his robes off, no one would notice him. Yes, he wouldn't have a shield to hide his relation to the Potters, but hopefully his long hair hid enough of his face to prevent recognition.

He landed in an alley way near the Leaky Cauldron and changed, packing away his basilisk skin robe. He felt terribly vulnerable without it and almost naked. None the less Harry entered the dark and shabby inn, possessions tucked into his mokeskin pouch. Harry was surprised by the lack of people occupying the room, only about three or four. He had thought if one inn suffered they all would, but although Voldermort's activities had yet to suppress the amount visiting the Three Broomsticks, it obviously had stopped witches and wizards from appearing in the Leaky Cauldron.

Tom gave him a toothless smile as he approached, though it wasn't as broad as Harry was used to seeing it. It was odd, you never notice how friendly people are to you until you become a stranger again. Harry returned the smile slightly.

"Do you have a room spare, for tonight?" As Harry inquired he examined those in room, but couldn't recognise any of them. He hoped this place wouldn't be checked by Aurors- but why would it? The Aurors would presume he apparated to the Death Eater head quarters as soon as he managed to get outside the anti-apparition wards. Unless... Maybe porting to Lily Potter's sister's house was a bad idea. Would they get overly paranoid about that? Any how, they still wouldn't look here for him and even if they did, they wouldn't recognise him surely... right?

"Uh, sir?..." Tom was tilting his head confused, until Harry focused on him again, "I was just saying we do have a room, for 3 galleons a night if you're interested..."

Harry nodded and retrieved the money, silently questioning if it was the lack of business or the location that made the prices so much cheaper then in the Three Broomsticks and collected his room key. Buying a butterbeer as well, Harry made his way to his new room, to rethink his plan to reach Dumbledore, yet again.

...oo0(~)0oo...

"Charlus!" Lily Potter though her arms around her son, despite his embarrassment, and held him tight, "Are you okay? You and your father are both unhurt?". By this time she had pushed the complaining teen back to get a good look at him, ignoring the protests that he was just fine.

James had strode in, followed by Moody and Shackelbolt, talking heatedly about the hooded man who had grabbed Charlus. When Tonks followed after the arguing group, she was tackled by a small red headed boy.

"Aunty Tonks!" Connor shouted merrily, in the way only a six year old can manage after such an event. Though Tonks certainly managed to try and match it.

"Wotcher, squirt!" She hefted the youngest Potter up with some difficulty, as he was no longer a_ small_ boy and she had a feeling he'd end up growing taller then his dad, as she expected Charlus to as well.

"Death Eaters attacked, but they didn't get in!" Connor replied excitedly, and Tonks re-shifted him to get a better grip as she walked towards Lily and Charlus, who were both focused on her.

"Bet you they were too afraid, knowing you and your mum were in here. You'd of shown those stupid metal faces, wouldn't you?" To which she got enthusiastic nod from Connor, but a slightly disapproving look from Lily, who didn't want to encourage her six year old boy to fight Death eaters. Tonks let Connor down, who proceeded to hassle Charlus, and turned to the still concerned Lily.

"You alright then? It took far too long to get here and I don't like the feel of it- None of us do. The cowards ran off as soon as we arrived. Can't help but feel they're playing with us." Tonks shifted uncomfortably, watching the three still heatedly talking talking men. "Any how, you didn't get involved in the fighting did you? Heard no one managed to get in, but in your state I don't think people will like it if you start playing defender, no offence." Tonks motioned to Lily's swollen stomach, containing yet another to-be Potter child.

Lily looked mildly offended that she was expected to take the side-lines, but this was her third pregnancy and she was used to the over protectiveness of her friends, "No, I sat at the back with Connor. Plenty of other skilled wands to stop any getting in, Sirius for example. Went to check all the other customers quickly. He'll only do a half job at it though."

Tonks snorted, and pulled out chair for them both, Charlus still being occupied with his little brother's rapid fire questions and exaggerated stories of what happened to him. Sirius would of course rush checking strangers safety, when he was worried about his own friends and family.

Lily sat down and pointed to the three men, "What are they arguing about? Why the Death Eaters did a 'hit and run', like you were worried about?"

Tonks nodded but also leant in, "Yeah, why and how Hogsmeade got attacked like it did, but also because we almost caught this new Death Eater," When Lily's eyes widen, her mind jumping to another 'new' Death Eater and Tonks made a reassuring motion. "Not that one... but this one is still a lot of trouble. Doesn't dress like a proper Death Eater, so he may be just a sympathiser or hjust tying to avoid detection- he was after Charlus, almost got him too."

Charlus looked up at his name, ignoring his little brother's chatter, and after hearing 'almost got him too' and seeing the protective and angry look his mother threw at him, he knew they were talking about the hooded man. He barely managed to get his hands up in defence and open his mouth to explain what happened when his mum began to rant.

"He what?! You didn't tell me this Charlus! One of those twisted men almost got hold of you? Almost killed you?! Why were you even in the fight, when there were so many- Where was your father?!" Lily's anger might have been partially fuelled by a mothers wrath at her cub being endangered and partially by pregnancy induced hormonal mood swings.

James had come over at the sound of Lily's raised voice, quickly checking his wife over to see if she was unharmed. Charlus couldn't predict who's side James would take. But he doubted that any man would argue against his irrationally irate, pregnant wife over the safety of their children.

"He was with me, till we got trapped in someone's garden, so I told him to run to here under a disillusionment charm. We weren't far away at the time, and I was going to keep the Death Eaters attacking us from following." James tried to use a calming tone, but it didn't seem to do much good. Tonks had managed to escape and move over to Moody, while Sirius ha just ran into the scene, looking confused at arguing couple while absent mindedly scooping up the worried Connor, a far bit easier then Tonks had done.

"You let him go by _himself_?! In the middle of an attack?!" Lily pushed herself up, and the couple became the centre of attention in the inn. This was about the famous Charlus Potter after all.

"Hey, now," Charlus tired a hand at defending himself, "I can cope with Death Eaters, but this one snuck up on me under an invisibility cloak, and it wasn't like he managed to hurt me or anything..."

"So what did he do?" Lily was glaring t them both, at James motioned for his son to continue.

"Well," Charlus licked his lips, " I was running to the Three Broomsticks, through a back alley, when I heard footsteps right in font of me. But I couldn't see anyone. But then I heard footsteps behind me as well, so I couldn't have found another route, with out risking running into either person and discovering they were Death Eaters." His mother nodded, pleased that he hadn't automatically tried to fight whoever was under the cloak.

"But before I could decide what to do, an arm had grabbed me, and the person had pulled the cloak over me too, forcing us into this little dent in the wall. Turns out the other person was dad and another Death Eater was following the one who grabbed me. Dad fought and beat the other D.E and I managed to dislodge the cloak and get his attention." Charlus explained, realising that almost everyone in the room was paying attention to him, not just his mother. Luckily, his father took over from there.

"Then I attacked, allowing Charlus to break free, and we both forced this man to retreat. But it was if he was wearing Dragons hide all over, none of our spells seemed to really affect him. Still he fled, and we chased after him till Moody and Shackelbolt took over. Me and Charlus went straight here after that." Lily was still looking concerned, but her anger had faded.

"Aye," Moody finally stepped in, the tension breaking as some one outside the family got involved, "But the bloody bastard got away. Lily, I know you've been under stress, but I have to ask- Does your sister live in 'Little whining?' Privet Drive, perhaps?"

When Lily paled and nodded, Moody cursed, "That's were we tracked his improvised Portkey too. Think the bastard was trying to scare us. Don't worry, your sister and her family are fine, all the wards are still standing, though we don't know how he managed to get in or find the place in the first place."

Lily still looked terrified from the stress of it all, and James went over to comfort her, holding her and telling her that everyone was safe, no one was harmed. Charlus looked panicked as well. Were the Death Eaters really attacking his Aunt's? He may not of liked them that much, but it was disturbing to think the Death Eaters hated him so much they were trying to target his muggle relatives. His thoughts were interrupted by Sirius, who was still holding a teary eyed Conner, upset from his parents shouting.

"What the hell is going on? This Death Eater just appeared out of no where, with magic resistant clothes, invisibility cloak and knowledge of Lily's family? Are you sure we don't know who he is?"

Sirius let Connor down, who ran to get a hug from his parents.

Charlus shook his head, "All I know was that he was listening in on me and my friends conversation yesterday and he turned up today, watching me and dad at Zonko's."

"Called himself Harold Griffiths, when I confronted him in the shop, but I could tell he was lying. He's bit taller then me, and was wearing very dark red robes and hood. Couldn't see his face. Sounded slightly familiar." James sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair, and cuddled his youngest son closer. Connor didn't understand what was going on, but he could tell it was bad.

Tonks sidled back in, "Did anyone see his face? His hood annoyingly stayed up the whole time we chased him."

This time, surprisingly, Rosmerta spoke up, "If you are talking about the hooded bloke, that was here today and yesterday, I did. Not close up, but he had rented a room here, came down with out his hood up. Maybe he forgot to put it up or he was just being cocky. He had dark brown hair, about to his shoulder blades, lightly tanned skin and his eyes were a bright colour, blue or green."

Rosmerta moved behind her counter, disappearing behind it before coming back up with a key, "Here, this will unlock all the rooms, he was staying in No. 7. Take anything you need from there, but don't do anything to scare away customers." She warned, handing the key over to Moody, who's electric blue eye darted all over it, before continuing to scan the room in it's sporadic movements.

"Well? What are you all waiting for? Shackelbolt, get to Albus and someone help me check this room! We have a Death Eater to catch!"

* * *

Still reading fine? I felt a bit like there was too much speech in this. Not too happy with this chapter. Well, at least Harry has his hood down. Don't worry- this was a fast chap, next one will be a bit slower and will explain things- but it would really help if you pointed out anything that confuses or doesn't sit right with you. Hell, even if you just post a review asking 'what the hell is going on with such and such? I am soo confuzzled!" I'll be happy! Remember to check my Profile, just click on my name really, to check for answers. Other questions have already been answered. I will always try to update Tuesdays.


	4. So it begins

Previously- _When in Hogsmeade Harry learns more of this world, including that his family is still alive but his alternate self, although named Charlus, is still The Boy Who Lived and worrying news of an active young Death eater helping the never-been-killed Voldermort. Harry has an unfortunate run in with his father, which is interrupted by a sudden and unpredicted Death eater attack. During this attack Harry unintentionally makes himself a possible threat and has been labelled a Death Eater by the alternate versions of his friends. Escaping to the Leaky Cauldron Harry lays low, while back in Hogsmeade his alter-friends plan to get to the bottom of this attack and find out who Harry is._

Moody and Tonks had already made their way upstairs, leaving Shacklebolt to get in touch with Dumbledore and the Potters to deal with their own. Plenty of theories crossed Tonks' mind, from this Death Eater being a trump card, that had been hidden up Voldermort's sleeve till now, to the whole attack being an attempt to confuse everyone allowing the Death Eater to grab Charlus with out too much trouble. Of course the plan still failed, but she was trying to figure out what it intended to achieve and how.

"Oi, Moody, Do you think this attack was just to confuse people, while this new git tried to grab Charlie boy? I mean, an attack on Hogsmeade out of the blue and them just retreating like that? Something doesn't feel right." Tonks put forth one of her most likely ideas, while using magic to see if there was anything hidden in the seemingly empty chest-of-draws.

"Oh, the attack was false, but I doubt it was only to grab Potter. They're too tricky to do such an obvious attack and draw attention when they want to discretely snatch someone. I think Potter would just be a bonus. Find anything yet?" Moody had already vanished away a butterbeer bottle and newspaper to be looked at later, but other then that and the rumpled bed it didn't look like the Death Eater had left anything behind.

Tonks shook her head and asked if he had found anything else. Moody held up a short, black strand of hair and Tonks frowned at it.

"Rosmerta said he had long brown hair, but unless the Three Broomsticks doesn't see the need to change sheets after each customer or use a self cleaning charm to clean it every new day, then I think our Death Eater may have changed his appearance only today. I'll check this hair against what we can get from the bottle to see if it comes from the same person- if Rosmerta confirms that this place is as hygienic as it should be, or this pillow could have any number of people's hairs on it." Moody explained, vanishing the strand away while checking for more, his blue eye methodically searching the room over and over again.

Tonks scrunched her nose up in disgust at the harmless strand of hair. To her the thought of handling a Death Eater's hair that they'd just pulled from a pillow was nasty. Plus, the notion that the pillow might not be cleaned after each customer and the thought of waking up with some strangers hair clinging to your head.

" You think we could get a polyjuice potion from that? It could help with identifying him." Tonks motioned to the pillow but Moody only shook his head, saying he couldn't find enough for it too work. Just as Moody was motioning to leave the room, Shacklebolt ran in, looking distressed.

"The attack was a decoy- Hogwarts has been attacked from the inside-" His breathy explanation was cut of from a sharp 'what?!' from Tonks, who was silenced with sharp glance from Moody.

So, the attack on Hogsmeade _was_ false, but to be honest an attack on Hogwarts made even less sense, especially if the decoy was only a little way away from the main target. Unless those cocky bastards were trying to show off. But they should have heard- Hogwarts should have been able to send a message out quickly, fast enough that the Aurors in Hogsmeade could make their way to Hogwarts.

"Has anyone been hurt, killed?" Moody's eye was moving franticly, scanning Shacklebolt for any movement or body language that could tell it something about this important news, while the natural one stared at the man, a hint of concern showing, the out question drew Tonks out her her quick train of thoughts.

"Dumbledore- Dumbledore's been killed..." Both of them stared at Shacklebolt numbly, as if they hadn't been able to understand what had been said.

"I haven't told anyone else yet, but they'll hear soon. I tired to get in touch over the frog cards, but he wasn't responding so I was going to check myself- Mrs McGonagall spoke to me over her card before I could. Some how the bastards had got inside, but no one saw them, not one mask or sign of battle- they'd caught him in his office, we don't know how..." The usually calm and collected Auror rambled slightly, as Tonks fell back against the wall and Moody just stared shocked.

Dumbledore's dead?

How?

They all knew he was the main target, along with Charlus, but they never thought that they'd actually get him. He was the great Albus Percival Wulfric Brain Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards to ever live. Hogwarts was guarded, warded, protected and watched- it should be safe! No Death Eater could have gotten inside with out an insiders help, but who from Hogwarts would? How did this happen? How _could _this happen?

"The portraits- Have you asked the portraits what they saw?" Moody snapped out of his phase, and Tonks could only stare at him as her world was being turned upside down.

"They'll be doing that now, I've only just been informed... How are we going to tell the Order? Charlus?" Shacklebolt glanced behind him, taking off his cap either to show respect for the recently fallen headmaster, or out of nerves. Moody only shook his head again. Walking out the door and motioning for Tonks to follow, which she did almost subconsciously.

"I'll let you deal with that Kingsley, you're better at it. I need to figure out how those bastards got in with out a single person noticing them. The Order can be dealt with after, now, we have to find out who did this, Tonks-" Moody turned and watched Tonks, still numb with shock, thoughtfully, "You stay here, keep the Potters company. And question Rosmerta- Dumbledore is dead, but we can't let that stop us from continuing the fight, or it will have been for nothing..." A reassuring pat to the shoulder was all Tonks got from her mentor, as he set of determined to find Albus' assassin. She still couldn't get her head round it. It was too sudden, one minute they were hunting a Death Eater who made at grab attempt at Charlus and the next they were hit with the news Dumbledore had been killed. This Death Eater felt like small fry compared to the one they were now going to have to find.

But Moody was right- If they gave up now, it would all be for nothing. They'd not only find this Death Eater, but the one who killed Albus, and when they did they'd kill them. No questions asked, no trail, just death. It's what they deserved. It's what all the bloody fools who support Voldermort, and help these killings go on, deserve.

Tonks wiped tears that she didn't even know were falling, from her eyes and went to question Rosmerta. As she walked down the stairs she could see Shacklebolt, who had collected himself quicker then she had, talking to the Potters and Sirius and by the look of shock and dismay on their faces she knew they'd just been told.

Lily hugged Connor closer, the little boy not being old enough to know how to deal with the news of death and could only looked confused and saddened by the moods of those around him. Charlus reacted more violently- after his face morphed from disbelief, to shock, then to anger he stormed out, face red with grief and rage. James had hesitated a little, before giving his wife an apologetic kiss to the forehead and whispering something to her, and then followed the distraught teen, leaving Sirius to comfort Lily.

Tonks sighed, feeling oddly empty. How could they go on with such a heavy blow? Everyone on the light side would realise what this meant- they had no figure head any more. It was almost as if Voldermort had won, and it wasn't even done in a final dramatic duel- it was done by an underhanded attack by a cowardly assassin. Voldermort had grown steadily stronger and bolder since his reammergence, the eight year period of minor attacks had passed and now the second war was reaching it's peak.

"Hey... Rosmerta, how often are the sheets and pillow cases changed?" Tonks asked only half heartedly, leaning against a table while Rosmerta, who'd been watching the event with the Potters with apprehension and confusion, turned and stared blankly at her before acknowledging the question.

"There's a cleaning charm that will activate at around seven every night to keep them fresh, but I only change the sheets after each customer or every week. I hadn't changed the man's sheets if that's what you're asking about, and the spell shouldn't activate for another hour- do you want me to postpone it?" Tonks shook her head at Rosmerta's question. So it was their Death Eater's hair. Well it was going to be slightly harder to catch him if he was changing appearance often. It was strange, Death Eater's may wear masks to hide their identity, but they rarely tried to disguise themselves in this fashion- most were too proud to hide their identity at all, or were too cowardly to even risk showing their faces.

" Four fire whiskeys, please, Rosmerta- for me and the three men.... And a butterbeer and two hot chocolates for Lily and the boys." Rosmerta nodded and Tonks made her way to sit amongst the disheartened group, giving Lily's shoulder a squeeze and offering a sad smile to Sirius.

...oo0(~)0oo...

"How could this happen?!" Charlus' distraught voice carried a little way through the snowy woods, and his father couldn't find the right answer to the question.

"It could because it always could have been a possibility- Dumbledore knew that from the beginning- when he created the order, maybe since he knew Voldermort when he was still a student." James could only give the answer that felt right at the time, but even though he wanted answers to be given to him, he knew at this point and time his son needed them more.

As soon as Shacklebolt had given them the news questions like this began forming. The horrible thought of Dumbledore's death may have been entertained for a morose moment by many of the order, but everyone prayed it would never happen.

"It shouldn't have happened... If the attack on Hogsmeade hadn't happened, if no one had been so worried about me, then they could have gotten there in time..." Charlus probably didn't believe half the things he was saying, but he was searching for something to blame and could only find himself, " I- I should have been there when it happened, instead I had to hear of it second hand, like some stranger or-" James stopped him with an embrace, despite the teen angrily trying to push him away in a half hearted attempted.

"It wasn't your fault. It was no ones fault but Voldermort's and his followers. You heard Shacklebolt; No one heard or saw anything- there was no warning or sign that the attack had happened till the last moment. Even if all the Aurors were near by and unoccupied, they still wouldn't have been able to do anything." James held his son tighter. Charlus was more of Lily's son then his, with high intelligence and strong emotions, " And would you really want to have been there when he died? To feel even more useless as you watched but couldn't do anything? To put even more unwarranted blame on yourself?"

James felt a head shake slowly against his chest and ran a hand through hair as equally black as his own. He felt somewhat angry as Shacklebolt, feeling the news could have been delivered more gently, though he honestly wasn't sure how himself. He knew that any harm to Dumbledore would upset Charlus, perhaps more so then others. Dumbledore was not only a grandfather figure to Charlus and Connor, whose real grandparents died when they were young, but Charlus also felt responsible for any of Voldermort's actions all because of that stupid title. _The-Boy-Who-Lived._

James frowned. _That title. _How was he supposed to tell Charlus that the Order felt it was a lie? That Charlus may not have been the only survivor that night. How ever it was done, it shouldn't be done now at least. Not now, not when the boy was confused enough. After giving reassurances to the teen, who cried silently against his father, such as how Voldermort had not won, and that the fight will continue and we'll win, you'll see, James led them both back into the inn.

Connor was curled up asleep, with a small hot chocolate moustache on his lip, on Sirius' lap, probably because he couldn't do so on his mothers, with her pregnant belly. Lily herself hadn't touched the now cold cup of hot chocolate, and sat in a magically cushioned set next to Sirius, playing with her sons red hair looking tired and worn out. Shacklebolt and Tonks were no where to be seen.

"Hey, you two might want one of these," Sirius spoke gently, with a tinge of sadness and anger to his voice from the recent news, and offered up the butterbeer and remaining Fire whiskey, "Tonks and Kingsley have already been called away by the Ministry."

James accepted the alcoholic drink gratefully, his son taking the butterbeer almost absent mindedly. Sirius gave Charlus a look of concern but didn't question his well being, knowing it would only irritate the eldest Potter child. Instead he threw a questioning glance at James, who only shook his head and took another drink from his Fire whiskey, finishing it in only two goes. Lily's hand reached out and found James'. Sirius watched the couple silently comfort each other before sighing.

"I think... that it may be best to retire. We're all tired, and the news can come tomorrow." Sirius wrapped an arm around his second godson and sat up slightly, making the young boy grumble in his sleep. James nodded in agreement and went to help his wife from her chair.

"Lily?" James gave Lily's shoulder squeeze and accepted the hug she gave him easily.

"Today feels too much like a bad dream, and I keep expecting to wake up." She shook her head with a sad smile, before moving away from James to check on her oldest son and letting her husband relieve Sirius of Connor. James brushed away the foam moustache from Connor's lips with his thumb, before hefting the young boy up, letting Connor's head rest on his shoulders as the young boy mumbled complaints.

"Haven't seen him this complaint for a long time. It's like he's four again, when the gates of hell could open and he'd still sleep through it." James tried to lighten the mood little, while reminiscing about the times when his youngest son was easier to deal with.

Lily gave him a smile, before turning back to Charlus, cupping the side of his face with a hand and making the emerald set of eyes meet her own just as green ones. She got a mumbled assurance that he was fine, and managed to stir him into moving. He didn't get far, if he even managed to move at all after standing, before he received yet another hug from one of his parents, though this time he didn't fight it.

"Yeah, yeah. We've all been hugged, now should we get back home?" Charlus attempted. It wasn't that he didn't want the affection, but he didn't like the feeling that they thought he needed it at this time, like he wasn't strong enough.

" I haven't been hugged yet...." Sirius complained quietly.

"You got one off Connor." Charlus sighed, but as soon as his mother let go of him he let Sirius give him a one armed hug quickly, before helping his tired and pregnant mother over to the fireplace, to Floo back to Grimmauld Place.

...oo0(~)0oo...

Harry had decided to get an early night after eating a meal, despite it being of typical Leaky Cauldron standards for he was hungry enough for it to taste as good as a Hogwarts meal, and browsing Diagon alley for a while. He saw nothing of interest in the shops, except that, like in Hogsmeade, they seemed to be rearranged. Though, he _had_ stopped by the pet store, just in case he spotted anything that interested him. He would need an owl or messenger carrier of some sort after all, and in a world were he knew no one there was nothing like being able to buy a furry friend to keep you company.

He had visited Magical Menagerie, as he found that place first. The puffskeins never really attracted Harry's attention back in his own world and after being told they had a habit of eating out of their owner's nose, while the person slept, put him off completely. Fire crabs were useless to him. And while the Sleek black rats, that all watched him carefully with intelligent eyes, intrigued him, after wormtail he didn't think he could ever deal with a pet rat. The kneazle was more promising, though the slightly hostile look it gave him unnerved him, especially as it followed his movements all around the shop with an unfaltering gaze.

"You know," A voice beside Harry had broken his staring competition with the magical, grey-flecked, black cat, "I haven't seen her that interested in someone for a long time. She's almost a pure kneazle you know, got her from a reliable breeder, and you can just tell from that lion like tail and those big ears, but she's only two thirds kneazle so you don't need a license so not to worry. You wouldn't happen to be interested in her would you? It's often a very good sign when a kneazle takes such an interest in someone and I'd hate to see he go to someone she was less keen on."

Harry had looked at the woman confused. She hadn't let him get a word in edgewise and he didn't agree that it was an entirely good sign that it was paying such attention to him. "I... Haven't really got a permanent residence yet, and I wouldn't want to-"

"Oh, don't worry about that! Kneazles are far more intelligent then any normal cat, so the change of environment wouldn't bother it in the slightest. Here, you should get acquainted- even if you don't decide to buy her now I'm sure she'd be pleased to get a closer look at you!" The saleswoman gave him a firm towards the watching cat-like creature.

"I really don't think-" Harry was cut off from his explanation, that the cat didn't seem to like him, as the part-kneazle prowled closer to him in it's cage, and glared at him in almost a 'what the hell are you?' way. It turned it's head, examining Harry thoroughly then backed off, hiding itself back in it's house, though two shining eyes continued to watch Harry suspiciously.

Weirded out, Harry had decided that was enough pet shopping today and politely told the confused Shop keeper that it seemed it was only a passing interest and he didn't think it would be for the best if he bought her. He left the shop with a disappointed claim that she would still be available if he changed his mind called after him.

Back at the inn, Harry tried to get some sleep, though his dreams were, once again, unrestful.

This time his dreams included trying to find Dumbledore's portrait in Hogwarts, but all of the frames seemed to be blank. The school was becoming darker and a sound of something heavy moving began to follow him. The dream quickly became a nightmare after he caught the first flash of large yellow eyes of a basilisk in the portrait behind him. His fear of looking directly into the Basilisk's eyes battled with the need to find Dumbledore. His searching became more hurried as the cruel voice mocked him.

"_Why do you search for him? He will see what's inside you. He will see the monster beneath the skin. He will see you as an enemy. You're searching for you're own __**death**__."_

Harry tried not to pay any attention, a small part of him telling himself that it was only an attempt to phase him and that they were cruel lies. But in his dream they were too loud, too direct to ignore.

"_You can only trust yourself. Everyone else will __**kill **__ you. They can see. They know. They'll never trust you."_

Harry continued searching- he knew if he could only find Dumbledore then everything would be fine, he'd be safe. He felt as if he were twelve again, hearing the voice in the walls.

"_You're alone, Harry. You know this. You should stop running. You need to __**stop**__ running from me."_

The yellow eyes were catching up with him, and just as he turned a corner, running through the dim Hogwarts corridors, he came face to face with the basilisk.

And of course he woke up. With his scar burning and his body trembling. He hadn't had a dream like that in ages, not since Voldermort- His hand darted up to his still stinging scar. Impossible. It hadn't acted up since Voldermort's defeat and surely it wasn't possible that the soul piece inside of him was connecting to this world's Voldermort... Could it? Hermione said it shouldn't do, but she had also hoped that there wouldn't be another him in this world.

Was that maybe why that part-kneazle reacted to him so oddly? It could sense that he was a Horcrux? But, it couldn't be, or surely Crookshanks would have had the same reaction to him. Rubbing the scar Harry got up and ready, having a small shock when he'd seen himself in the mirror as he'd forgotten about his change in hair style. Should he change it again? No, too tired. It wasn't as if the Aurors would hunt down every long dark haired male would they? Or...collect a pensive...

No, Rosmerta hadn't seen him well enough for that, but he'd have to remember it for the future. Dodging the Magical law wasn't as easy when you had to move discretely through the crowds. It was easier when he'd just camped out, though he certainly didn't feel like repeating that experience.

Still his stomach demanded food and he smothered his fears of being recognised- if he went around paranoid all the time, not only would he make himself more suspicious but, he'd never enjoy this new world.

The atmosphere of the Leaky Cauldron was even more depressing then yesterday, with what little people in sitting round in huddled groups whispering worriedly to each other. Harry glanced around in confusion at the nervous customers. What was going on? He walked slowly to the saddened Tom, trying to pick out words from the quiet conversations. He only managed to hear 'It's over', 'Dumbledore' and 'Hogwarts'. That made a knot form in his stomach, twisting tighter with each step.

"Something going on?" Harry carefully asked Tom, who only shook his head and offered him a issue of the Daily Prophet. The oversized headline of 'DUMBLEDORE KILLED' hit him like a physical strike. Somehow, hearing this news before didn't do much to weaken the blow this time. Dumbledore was now dead in this world too, and Harry felt a small amount of shame as he wondered if part of his despair was caused because he now knew he had almost no one who would give him a chance.

He did his best to try and skim read the news, while sitting down in the closest seat, as it was written by Rita Skeeter, and thus contained the slander and lies he'd already heard from his world. What he did discover though, was that the circumstances of his death were not being released as of this moment, and that the ministry seemed to suggest that the killing had happened in Hogwarts, yesterday on the 31st of October. Harry frowned slightly- if this world was anything like his then that meant the Ministry was corrupt, perhaps to the point it had been taken over, seeing as Voldermort had been active for longer in this world, and was either hiding what happened to protect a Death Eater, or knew nothing.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, mildly distracted by how weird it felt to suddenly have long hair, and sighed. This universe hated him. It was simple and obvious. It didn't like the fact he had punched his way into it and was now getting it's own back by making sure everything went wrong for him.

Dumbledore was dead. Killed a second time. And if he was as unlucky as he thought he was that meant the war that happened in his world was about to reach it's darkest in this one. It wouldn't be long before the Ministry was taken over completely, if not already. Alastor Moody would be taking over the soon to be oppressed Order of the Phoenix and Harry would never be able to convince them of his innocence while they were lead by a man as paranoid as Moody. He would as soon arrest Harry a trust him. But did they know of the Horcruxes? If Voldermort had never died, then he would never risk using his diary to try and return, meaning that Dumbledore would have lost one of the most vital clues leading to the conclusion of Voldermort using the darkest of all magics. Harry couldn't take the easy way out now- this world was in more danger then his own of slipping into darkness, and he had to yet again throw himself into the line of fire.

He had to warn the Order about the Horcruxes and use the knowledge of his world to help here.

Somehow.

Eep. I just killed Dumbledore. O.o  
Right...um. Yeah things have just gotten harder for Harry but he now has more incentive to join in the worlds war. Don't worry I won't drag out this No-one-trusts-Harry thing for too long, nor will I keep doing a they-trust-him-they-trust-him-not thing over and over again. I'll focus on the movement of the plot as well. I feel like I'm neglecting characters some where... Well, you're the reader, so if you notice something give me a shout. Mean while I got to get typing more. I'm slowing down due to Christmas draining my time.


	5. On The Other Side

Previously- _Events have now begun to speed up and Harry is having difficulty to keep up. His previous plan to get to Dumbledore, knowing the man may be the only one who would give him a chance, is destroyed as a sudden and unexpected assassination happens just day after Harry arrives in this world. He has been labelled a Death Eater by the Order and his family and strange dreams continue to hound him. On the other side Charlus' life seems to be crumbling around him as his allies perish and the web of lies holding his life together begin to unravel. Moody searches for answers behind Dumbledore's death and the light side struggle to hold their heads high._

_

* * *

  
_

_October 31__st__, Day of Dumbledore's death:_

Moody had used his specialised broomstick to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible- He was a retired Auror and so, while he could still help in battles and give advice, he was not authorised to tamper with evidence or investigate crime scenes as he used to. However, Moody would have cut off his other leg then allow the idiots at the Ministry (excluding, of course, a select few; such as his protégée, Nymphadora) to deal with the investigation of Dumbledore's death. Hopefully Alastor would get there before and official Ministry agents did, as McGonagall would most likely inform the Order before she did the Ministry. Though the Dark Mark forming in the clouds above would alert them soon- Moody had to be quick

Arriving at Hogwarts, Moody began to stride determinedly through the school corridors, his ram headed cane giving a sharp angry click with every step. He already knew his way to the Headmaster's office. The school had an... 'off' feeling about it, as if something was missing- some part of the magic had gone. By the looks of it the students noticed this as well, the look of fear of those who had seen the dark mark was mixed into a general nervous and out-of-place expression shown on all the other students. No doubt all the teachers already knew what had happened. Moody hoped they could bloody well control the students when the news reached them.

Marching past the gargoyle and up the already opened staircase, Moody was hit by the sight of Dumbledore's body slumped beside his desk, his wand not even drawn, and a chick Fawkes singing in dismay. No doubt his wand was now in Voldermort's grasp. McGonagall sat on the stairs, still holding a numb and shocked look on his face. A few of the portraits were sobbing, others looked angry and confused. The eerie and melancholy song of sadness depressed those in the room, but not to the extent that an adult Phoenix could instil.

"Minerva?" Moody got her attention as he walked closer to examine Dumbledore, the wide eyed vacant expression and no evidence of physical harm suggest the Killing curse was used. The slight residue of dark magic confirmed it. But how could his assassin get close enough to cast it without Dumbledore casting a counter-curse or evading?

"I don't know how this happened Alastor. There was no warning- I didn't know... it was only till some of the wards failed and the Mark was cast that I realised..." McGonagall held her face in her hands. Moody half wanted to snap at her and half wanted to comfort her. In the end he just ignored her- She couldn't help right now and he needed to find out what happened _now._

"Did any of you portraits see what happened? Who did this?" Moody turned, scanning the portraits till one, Phineas Nigellus Black, spoke up.

"It was Charlus Potter. We all saw it so there's no use any of you denying it!" He shouted at all the other portraits as they gasped or shook their heads, "Came in acting out of breath and panicked, playing the old fools heart, and then as quick as a viper killed Albus- using the Avada Kedavra curse! Didn't know the boy was capable..." This caused a series of muttering amongst the other portraits, some angry at the mention of the spell, others at the insult to the late headmaster and a few tying to defend Charlus. Moody was confused and shocked.

"Charlus? Charlus David Potter? That's impossible, the boy was in Hogsmeade, when it was under attack!" Moody snapped at the portrait who only shook his head and raised a brow.

"So it was true, about there being an attack on Hogsmeade Village? I thought the boy was making it up. And yes- it was most definitely him. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice something was off before the spell was cast- Non-verbally at that! That boy is a dangerous murderer, and he's been hiding under all of you, taking all the knowledge he needed and then, with out warning, he kills!" It wasn't a secret Phineas never liked Charlus, so this amount of exaggeration was to be expected. Never the less, it angered more then a few in the room.

"Alastor is correct, Phineas!" This time it was, McGonagall who spoke up. While Charlus was not one of her Gryffindors, she greatly admired the boys devotion to learning, devotion that could rival Miss Grangers, and sometimes felt he should have been in Gryffindor with the amount of courage he showed. "Mr Potter was out with his family, and I have no doubt that he could not have travelled from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, while under attack, in time to commit Albus' murder and nor would Alastor lie."

Phineas only looked mildly angered at the professors rebuke, but smiled arrogantly when the other portraits backed up his story, that it really was Charlus who had entered the room and commited the deed. Moody was beginning to feel the effects of Fawkes' song grow stronger, but couldn't bring himself to try and silence the bird.

"What about Fawkes? Was he struck first or-" Moody was cut off by Phineas again.

"Oh no, he's been a chick for a day or so now. It was his Burning day not long ago. He couldn't have helped, if that was what you were wondering- though he did start to complain as soon as Charlus entered the room, but I presume Dumbledore thought it was about Charlus' fake distress rather then his murderous intentions." Phineas snorted and McGonagall bristled again, but was prevented from reacting by a question from Moody.

"Minerva, the portraits will only obey a direct order from the current headmaster, correct?" Moody waited until McGonagall nodded, as he let his magical eye examine the room and Dumbledore's body, "And you'd be acting-headmistress, now that Albus is gone, correct?"

"Yes, it was agreed that I would be, but where are you going with this Alastor?" McGonagall had looked down at Dumbledore at his mention, and it was clear that she still hadn't quite come to terms with it, but at least Fawkes had ceased his lament, only letting out a miserable and needy chirp out now and again.

"Do you have the power to command the portraits?" Moody questioned urgently. He needed to finish this s quickly as possible, as the Ministry will be there any minute. He received a hesitant nod from McGonagall. "Good. Order them not to tell anyone of what has happened in this room today, other then me, understood? If questioned they must suggest that it is too terrible to speak of it. And tell Phineas to go to Grimmauld place, once the Ministry is done trying to question them."

There was a few outraged and surprised exclamations from the portraits, particularly from Phineas, but they were silenced by McGonagall as she fulfilled Moody's request.

"You know as soon as you're replaced, we'll be able to speak again. As an _acting_-headmistress your commands are not permanent." Phineas pointed out angrily, though he was ignored. Moody memorised everything in the room, before he gave a silent nod of respect to Dumbledore's fallen body, scooped up the crying Phoenix chick and left. McGonagall bent down to close Dumbledore's eyes. Both knew what likely happened in that room today- one accepted it and the other dreaded it.

...oo0(~)0oo...

A fourteen year old boy- No, man- swept short, jet black hair out of his green almond eyes- or tried to. He wasn't use to having short hair and much preferred it when it was long, and capable of being restrained. He was waiting patiently inside the room of requirement, having got there through a repaired vanishing cabinet. It made him feel proud of Draco, to think that his fourteen year old friend, only a month older then himself, could repair such a complicated enchanted item. Though, in all honesty, Draco was still behind himself- if not in skill, then in willingness to use it. Draco had both been proud and nervous when he'd been chosen for the task to get him, Morfin, inside Hogwarts in order to assassinate Albus Dumbledore.

Though Morfin could understand it. He'd been friends to Draco since they were both babes, they were practically brothers, and as such he knew Draco and all his insecurities. One was the fear of failing to make his father proud, (and thus avoided doing anything that could go terribly wrong) and the other was to kill or help kill. Draco was Purist, yes, but he'd probably never make it as a Death Eater, as he still could never kill for the cause. Still, he made an excellent spy. And friend.

"You took your time," Morfin spoke calmly and with a smooth voice, as a platinum blonde head appeared from behind a stack of useless objects, "I was thinking I might have to wonder this blasted school by myself, till I managed to get into Dumbledore's office."

Draco looked sufficiently ashamed, but managed to cover it with a small smile, "Perhaps if you had the patience not to come through without me calling you, you wouldn't have needed to wait."

Morfin raised a brow at Draco, but couldn't help the smile that slipped onto his face. The situation wasn't funny, no, not at all. But these moments of informality were enjoyed by both boys. Draco would never treat his underlings like this, but the only superior he could do so with instead was Morfin. And Morfin only allowed Draco, out of all the other Death Eaters below himself,( Though Draco was yet to be considered a Death Eater) to be so disrespectful.

"Well, shall we get on with the mission then? Potter is out, correct? And that bird is definitely a chick and removed as a threat?" Morfin grimaced when he spoke the name 'Potter'. The thought that he could possibly be related to _them, _and be Charlus' cursed _twin_ of all things was... Highly distasteful. Morfin took a deep breath and awaited Draco's answer.

"He is, and will be for the rest of the day, perhaps even the weekend, if all goes as plan. The Phoenix should be a chick, if that damn Mudblood Granger's rambling was correct. 'Oh, how I wish I could have seen the Burning, it must be so marvellous!'" Draco mocked Hermione spitefully. How a muggle born like her ever became a prefect was beyond him. "I'll lead the way. The password is 'Jumping snakes'." Draco didn't need to remind Morfin that he had to follow a distance behind and avoid Neville or Luna. Morfin never needed reminding of information he'd already been given.

Morfin gave the go ahead, activated an enchanted coin in his pocket, and the two exited the strange room. It was strange for him to be walking inside the school, a place he considered enemy territory. Morfin didn't hate Hogwarts itself, it had a grand history and was partly founded by one of the greatest Purist figureheads, Salazar Slytherin. But he hated what it had become. Even during the early days of it's creation, Hogwarts started to go down hill- ever since that fool Godric Gryffindor believed Mudbloods to have as much potential as Purebloods. Allowing those magic thieves to walk around as equals, corrupting the magical way of thinking- Draco had told him how some of the Mudbloods complained about there not being 'basic' subjects, like English and mathematics. That angered him. If they were too stupid to realise that in the magical world those were replaced by much more meaningful subjects, like arithmancy, and that such a trivial thing like spelling and grammar could be correct with a flick of a wand, then they shouldn't be here.

Thankfully, many of the students were busy celebrating Halloween, and so the corridors were mostly empty, except for the occasional student who passed. Morfin mirrored the gestures he was given. Frown for a frown, a smile for a smile. Though, admittedly, the smiles were a little false.

When the gargoyle came into sight Draco left and Morfin checked the coin he had activated a little while ago- the numbers that should have been a date were turned into three x's and a one. So the Hogsmeade battle was beginning to end. Morfin had little time left. He ate a sweet Draco had given him- it was made by one of those Blood-traitor Weasley twins, but Draco had assured him that they worked and had stolen one for him. Quickly he confirmed it did work, when he found himself out of breath and with sweat beginning to trickle down his forehead. Disgusting.

"Jumping snakes." Morfin managed to pant out after reaching the Gargoyle. The sweets didn't make him _feel_ tired, but still made speaking difficult. This plan to make him seem like he just ran all the way from Hogsmeade began to seem like it would interfere with his abilities. Never mind, he could cast the killing curse non-verbally any how; _especially_ for Dumbledore. As long as the fool focused on his breathlessness and didn't try to pierce into his mind, Morfin should be fine. He may have disguised himself as Charlus, but Albus would be able to tell instantly that he wasn't the Golden-boy if he took just one glance into Morfin's head- yes, he'd practiced occlumency, but he dare not risk Dumbledore breaking through. Though getting in was reasonably easy, after Draco discovered the Vanishing cabinet and asked the room of requirement for it's counter part, finishing the mission would be one of the most difficult task he had yet to attempt. Dumbledore should not be underestimated.

When the Gargoyle moved aside, Morfin made his way in quickly, shouting out 'Professor Dumbledore!' as he went. He didn't know exactly how his twin would react in this situation and in all honesty he couldn't trust Draco's biased description of Charlus. The doors to the office opened quickly, and Morfin ran in, resisting the urge to tense as he put himself in full view in front of his most powerful enemy. A quick glance around the room, that he covered over with attempting to catch his breath, showed Morfin that the Phoenix was still a chick and was screeching dismally at Morfin's presence and Dumbledore had not reached for his wand. Good.

"Hogsmeade, it's... Been attacked- Death Eaters. Can't reach anyone. My parents..." Morfin deliberately left it off there, and waited for Dumbledore's reaction, as he bent over to cover the fact he was reaching for his wand. Dumbledore made to stand up, concern showing in his eyes, and placed both hands on his desk to help him out of his chair. Just the opportunity Morfin was waiting for. The old man shouldn't be able to react quick enough while in that position.

Morfin flicked out his wand. Dumbledore's eyes widened and he raised his hand to summon his wand. The Green light hit him before he could dodge or try to knock it away. Morfin watched as the body jolted backwards, turning as it went, so it fell in a heap beside the desk, just a little way back. The portraits in the room began to cry out, some screaming at him, but Morfin just walked casually forward, taking out a potion that should cancel the effects of the sweet he'd eaten. Pushing the body over with his hands, showing at least some respect for his fallen foe, Morfin took the Elder wand from Dumbledore's fingers. His father would be proud of him now, surely.

Ignoring the Portraits accusations, Morfin destroyed the collection of memories Dumbledore had gathered. His father, Voldermort, had warned Morfin that Dumbledore may have stored a memory that may damage his plans. Watching the silvery strands begin to dull into grey, digusting looking strings Morfin turned to a window.

"_Morsmordre!" _The Dark Mark cast, Morfin took hold of a portkey in his pocket, and returned to his father.

...oo0(~)0oo...

Charlus shivered. They were back in Grimmauld place, No. 12. After the Potter home was destroyed, when he was one, the Potter family moved in with Sirius Black, who had previously travelled around, sleeping where ever he wanted. Apparently the Black home at that time was still in possession of Walburga Black, but she was easily sent to St. Mungo's after it was proven that she was completely insane. She died four years later. Judging by the amount of redecoration, refurbishment and rebuilding they had to do, Walburga did little to keep the house in good condition, perhaps even doing more harm to it.

Still, to Charlus it felt like home, despite his uncle's complaints about the place. He and Connor knew no other house. After they'd returned home, uncle Sirius had carried Connor to his bedroom, while Charlus' parents retired to their room, leaving Charlus to make his own way to bed. He wasn't in bed for over five minutes before Connor tried to get in with him.

"Connor, sleep in your own bed." Charlus protested to his little brothers invasion of his personal space. It wasn't that he didn't love Connor, but the little red head fidgeted in his sleep. And snored. And talked. Charlus didn't do any of those things, so he didn't know why Connor did.

"But I want to sleep with you. Mum's got a big belly and it's weird." Connor failed to justify why he should be allowed to sleep with his brother, who was now sitting up and glaring at his eight-years-younger brother.

"Then sleep with uncle Sirius." Charlus raised a brow. His brother didn't seem to be so good at reasoning things, so he doubted that he'd ever end up in Ravenclaw with him. Probably end up in Gryffindor- that'd make his parents proud. His parents were surprised when Charlus was chosen to be in Ravenclaw, but Charlus didn't agree with all of the Gryffindor bravado- it was one thing to be brave and another thing to be reckless. Chivalry and courage only got you so far- Charlus needed to have intelligence to complete his task of defeating Voldermort. 'Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure', as Luna often reminded him. Anyway, he didn't feel as... Courageous as his family members did. When the sorting hat was deciding where to put him, it was hesitating between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Charlus chose Ravenclaw.

"But he snores." Connor complained balefully with a frown at Charlus, as if he should have thought of that.

"So do you." But Charlus gave up. His brother would just wait for him to fall asleep and try to crawl in again, so he pulled up his blanket and allowed the now smiling boy to sleep next to him. This was going to be a long night.

….

_(The next day- Now)_

Waking up groggily, Charlus rubbed his stiff joints. He'd slept in an odd way, after he tried to escape Connor's failing limbs. Obviously his little brother had a nightmare last night, judging from the angry movements and incoherent shouts that kept Charlus up.

Glancing at the clock, Charlus was surprised he'd slept till twelve. He guessed his parents had let him sleep in after the whole 'Dumbledore' thing. Dumbledore... He really was dead. Charlus rubbed his face, noticing the lack of a little red headed annoyance near by. No doubt there would be an order meeting here, later tonight, to see who would replaced Dumbledore as leader. A meeting he, stupidly, wouldn't be allowed to join.

He sighed, and tidied himself up, before heading downstairs, expecting the atmosphere to still be depressing. Instead it was incredibly tense as he walked in. His parents avoided his eyes and Sirius' smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Moody came!" Connor chirped, playing with a moving stuffed toy-dragon. It made a 'grrck' sound somehow and tried to attack a toy knight. Charlus snapped his attention to his parents.

"Did he say anything? About what happened?" Charlus watched as his parents shared a look. _That look. _The look that told him they were hiding something from him. Sirius looked down at his coffee and let the other two deal with the question.

"He did. It was complicated, so we decided that the ministry should be left out of it, and keep it as Order business." His mother placed a slight emphasis on 'Order business'.

"Order business, as in, not my business?" Charlus growled angrily, and gained a sharp look from his father.

"Charlus, you may feel that you should be apart of these things, but you're only fourteen. It was never fair in the first place for people to try and place such expectations on you and force you to live up to them." Charlus opened his moth to argue against James, but was stopped by a hand motion, "You shouldn't have to be worrying about these things at your age, we've discussed this."

Charlus just shook his head. He was the one they needed to fight the Dark Lord, yet they never trusted him with information, never told him what was truly going on. Sirius gave James a questioning look, as if trying to prompt him to say something more, but James only shook his head.

"Charlus, we shouldn't be arguing about this now- the Weasley will be coming over later. The Longbottoms too. So you need to tidy up, and have some breakfast. I made some pancakes." His mother intervened and drew Charlus' attention away from the two men. Connor remarked that, if Charlus didn't want his pancakes, he'd eat them and so, looked disappointed when Charlus took a plate and added lemon and sugar, before rolling them up and eating them. They were a bit cold, but a small vengeful part of Charlus was pleased by Connor's disappointment.

Charlus didn't get along with all of the Weasleys. Ron, for instance, was bit to dumb and cruel for his tastes. They weren't enemies, occasionally standing up for each other in school, but the way Ron insulted Luna and Neville, while showing off his own ignorance, annoyed Charlus. And the Way Charlus seemed to act snobbishly around Ron, 'showing off his fame and thinking that he was better' as Ron had put it, made Ron bitter around Charlus. Charlus also thought that his own family's wealth and fame made Ron jealous, and seemed to add to the dislike between the two.

Ginny wasn't too bad, after Charlus got used to the annoying crush on him she seemed to have. They hadn't met till they were around eight and seven, and she seemed to have developed a fan girl crush on him. Charlus was used to the media trying to hype up his name, but it wasn't till he met Ginny that he realised just how much affect the media could have really. After all a girl h had never met had a huge crush on him- how the hell does that happen? But she was kind to Luna and Neville, and so wasn't bad by Charlus' books.

The twins were okay, but they encouraged his brother to play pranks a bit too much for his taste. They'd started to come over due to Order business, which was also how Charlus had really gotten to know Neville, who he had become acquainted to earlier on through their parents friendship.

Neville was a little clumsy, but he had good heart and had a drive and instinct for herbology. Something which Charlus could admire.

…

After Charlus and Connor had disappeared upstairs, Sirius turned to the other two.

"I know you're his parents, and I'm not, but you can't keep hiding this from him. He's inherited your smarts Lily, and he knows were hiding something from him, and it's only a matter of time before he figures it out. And what would be worse- you telling him and him getting angry at you for trying to hide it, or him finding out himself, and being angry and never trusting you two again." Sirius wasn't always good at these things, but in this situation it was up to him to try and argue in Charlus' favour.

Lily and James loved Charlus, and probably understood him better then Sirius could ever be able to, but that loved blinded them in these sort of cases. Not to mention the love they still felt for their stolen son- Harry. They thought that if Charlus found out it was his supposedly dead brother who had killed Dumbledore, his world world shatter- not only because he was related to his mentors killer, but because it would mean he wasn't the Boy Who Lived, if there was one at all.

If Harry survived that night then it could mean that it was possible for him to be the Boy Who Lived. Which of course meant the Light side had a huge issue- If Harry was the Boy Who Lived, then the only one who could defeat Voldermort had been brainwashed into being their enemy.

And there was a possibility that Charlus would try to hunt down Harry- which not only put Charlus in danger, but could also mean that the real Boy Who Lived would be killed, or at least would never agree to join the Light side. After all, why join a side that had a member that would like nothing better then to kill you?

"And what can we do Sirius? Tell him that his twin is alive, but we never knew? Tell him that is was his _twin_ that killed Dumbledore, that had killed all those other people? We know he was that young Death Eater." Lily sat down, a cup of peach tea in her hands. Lily never liked Peach tea when she wasn't pregnant, but when she was, the house was filled with the sickly sweet scent of it. Sirius could only shake his head in response. He knew they were both pretty shell shocked, after Moody had come by, and told them what had happened.

Dumbledore killed by someone who looked exactly like Charlus Potter and his collection of memories exposed to the air and ruined. Their son, Harry James Potter, was now a killing machine for the Dark Lord. They still had hope that they could save him, show him the truth, but it was fading. But how could they possibly back up the decision to kill or imprison their own son? Their baby boy that they thought they had lost for ever?

"And you know how Charlus will react. He'll be angry at us, angry at the world. He's had to live with the burden of being the Boy Who Lived for so long now, but I Don't know how he'll cope when that burden is taken from him, the boundaries and idea's he's lived in destroyed." James sat down next to his wife, putting his hand over hers. Sirius nodded. He knew the problems that would arise when Charlus was told, but he feared what problems would grow if he was continued to be left in the dark.

"You'll have to tell him soon, somehow, before he finds out himself." Sirius sighed, "Any news on that other Death Eater, you know, the one that popped out of no where yesterday?"

James snorted at the obvious conversation change, but shook his head. "Moody got in touch little while ago- said something about him using disguises, and that he was naturally black haired. But that's about it. They're trying to find out which pure blood family he might be related to, using... DNA? Basically what's in the blood, that you can also find in hair and saliva..." James as a wizarding raised child, wasn't too sure on all the science behind this new branch of magic Aurors were using. He had wanted to become an Auror, but decided instead to stay home and help protect his family, using the mass family fortune to keep them comfortable. Lily would work at Hogwarts as a potions teacher when ever she could, being replaced by Slughorn, the Slytherin head-of-year, when ever she was pregnant, which of course wasn't that often.

"DNA is right. Basically they'll use his genes to try and track him down. Muggles use that technique too, but they don't have spells that can help, though admittedly the spells we have are still pretty useless for us. We can tell if somebody is related, and even use the samples to determine if a person is the one we're looking for, but we need both the person and the spell for the last one to work. And not many of the pure blood families have a database or sample we can test against any way- the ministry sometimes has a blood sample of ancient houses, for the cases of inheritance or the right to claim to be part of a family by blood." Lily explained, finding the slightly confused looks on the mens faces hilarious, "Honestly, you two wanted to become Aurors..."

"We can!" Both men spoke at the same time, but it was Sirius who continued, "It's just that I don't see how this helps us find the Death Eater- just test this spell on every black haired man we see? I suppose at least there's less people with black hair then there is with brown." Sirius shook his head and finished his coffee.

* * *

No Harry? Sorry, I needed to make sure you were filled in on the other two 'Harrys'. So from now on there will technically be three sides to this story- Charlus and his group, Morfin( Alter-Harry) and possibly some other Death eaters (like Draco) and Our Harry's viewpoints. I'll try to make this as non-confusing as possible. Sorry this was late, but I was unable to reach a computer with internet access on Tuesday or the day before. Hope this isn't too late an update for you guys- Remember, point out any flaws! Sure, you can be kind and not mention them, but that doesn't help me improve the story. I need to know if there is a plot flaw, or if things are getting unreadable or stale. Sorry for any errors, I kind of rushed through proof reading this, as I have so little time now that it's officially Christmas. Thanks for reading!


	6. Planning

Previously- _We learn that Dumbledore's murderer was Harry's alterself, known as Morfin, who was able to infiltrate the school by appearing to be Charlus, his identical twin and supposed Boy Who Lived. Moody makes sure this news does not spread outside of that room or outside of the Order, for if the media heard that is was 'Charlus' who killed Dumbledore, the wizarding world would be in a uproar. Charlus on the other hand is finding things difficult- Dumbledore is dead and his family is hiding secrets about it from him. James and Lily Potter have to make a decision whether they should tell Charlus that his supposedly dead twin brother, Harry/Morfin, is alive and was Dumbledore's assassin, which also means Charlus may not be The Boy Who Lived. Harry on the other hand is having to deal with strange dreams and figure out the best way to communicate with the Order._

_(PS- Minerva= Cat/Kneazle, McGonagall= Professor, unless obvious otherwise in speech- don't worry, you'll find out what I mean when you read.)_

_

* * *

  
_

_32__rd__ of October_

Harry stared into the slitted pupils of the part-kneazle from yesterday. He really would have preferred an owl but, as he was trying to find the Owl Emporium to buy an owl in order to send his information to the Order, he was grabbed by the lady from the Magical Menagerie. Apparently the female part-kneazle, the one that had been giving Harry the death glare, had been in a mood since she met him and wouldn't allow anyone close to her. So, the sales-woman practically demanded that he buy her, at half-price after Harry tried to escape, because she claimed that when a kneazle or half breed got like this there was no dealing with them. Just like Crookshanks wouldn't allow anyone to buy him until he met Hermione, this part-kneazle wouldn't settle for anyone else. So Harry was now twenty-six galleons less and was being stared at by a kneazle he'd just let out of it's cage and into his inn room. Though he had no clue why it wanted to be with him, as it seemed to hate him, but then again- curiosity killed the cat.

Harry supposed there were benefits to having a part-kneazle anyway; it would be able to spot if someone was being deceiving or was lying to him, it would be reasonably good company (once it stopped watching him as if he was going to turn into a monster any second) and might even be able to carry messages... maybe. Harry never really got to know Crookshanks that well, but he figured that as a ' two thirds' kneazle, this cat would be even more intelligent and, well... magical. Sure, it wouldn't be the same as an owl, but this thing seemed far too interested in him now to leave him be.

Interested in him, as in, it still stared at him unblinkingly as he moved. Harry offered it a hand and the green eyes zoned in on the movement.

"Well... I'm Harry James Potter, from another universe." He felt silly for having to introduce himself to a cat, but at least this might be good practice for when he had to do it for anyone else. The cat's ears perked up in interest and her green eyes became less hostile, looking over him in new interest. So she believed him then. Harry lowered his hand a little embarrassed as the cat continued to stare at it blankly. Well, it was a start.

"And what should I call you?... Felix?" Harry was answered with a small growl, so he put his hands up in apology. Apparently being big was a kneazle thing, as this cat _really _wasthe size of a small tiger, bigger then Crookshanks even, and heavy too, as Harry had learnt when carrying her here. As such, Harry really didn't want to annoy her.

"Queen?" That was met with another 'no' and a highly disapproving look. Maybe that was like calling a woman 'woman', as queen was a term for a female cat.

"Silver?" No again. Harry tried to think, leaning away from the cat and against the bed behind him. This cat reminded him of someone, with her slightly aggressive strictness and regal posture...

"Minerva?" The cat paused, before her eyes calmed and her ears picked up. That was a yes then... hopefully. He briefly wondered if his old transfiguration teacher would be insulted about him naming a cat after her.

"Can I call you Minnie for short?" Harry received a hiss, "Okay, okay, Minerva it is. So, Minerva... Do you stare at anyone like that, or just me?"

Minerva stared at him.

Harry looked away confused, before staring back at the cat. One sided conversations were hard. He presumed that was a 'only you' response and continued."Right, well I need your help with something. I know we've only just met, but would you be willing to try?" Minerva cocked her head, ears becoming fully erect. Hopefully that was a 'I'm interested', "I need to get a message to some people. They're good people, but they think I'm bad, so it would be... risky, if I tried to deliver it, so I was wondering if you could, if I gave you the address?"

Harry gave the cat a small smile, and was answered with a small hiss but also with his hand being softly head butted. That was a... yes? Minerva then moved away and leapt onto the room's desk, waiting for Harry to write something. Harry decided to look in his trunk for paper and a quill, rather then use the provided paper as it was signed by the Leaky Cauldron and he didn't trust the ink or quills here not to be traceable. As soon as he'd got his trunk open though, Minerva was back at his side, inspecting it's contents. He'd have to make sure she didn't make off with anything she disapproved of. Crookshanks was a stickler for rules and no doubt Minerva would be too, and some of the more 'immoral' items, such as dangerous potions and the like, would be not gain him favour in her eyes. Not that Harry had much favour with her to begin with, but it some was better then nothing.

It took longer then necessary to get the stationary, as Minerva kept insisting that Harry open another compartment and allow her to inspect everything, item by item. A little voice in Harry's head was worried that this could go badly wrong, should she completely disapprove of him, and a even more paranoid one was worried she was actually an Animagus. However he dismissed this and, eventually, he sat down as the desk, pondering what to write.

Telling the Order about him was a bad idea. Even if it was just a reassurance that he could be trusted would look suspicious, and telling them about who he actually was probably something that needed to be handled personally- probably under Veritaserum, though even then they still might not believe him, as Veritaserum was not infallible. People could still resist it and it could only force people to say what the believed was true. So a madman may confess to stealing the queen and hiding her in a teapot, and another equally mad person may admit to being from another universe. Until he provided proof, such as his blood or the hallows, his story wouldn't be accepted. And if he got the chance, Harry would prefer to keep it secret anyway.

After all, it would be incredibly awkward if his family knew who he was- a son that wasn't theirson and was a bit too old for them anyway. They might even feel _obligated _to try and accept him into the family, which would feel false and wrong. So, as much as he possibly could, Harry wanted to keep the relationship between him and any people he was familiar with natural- by not giving them any reason to force themselves to accept him, or to create an image for him. He was not Charlus, and never could be.

One thing that he was certain about was that the Order needed to learn about the Horcruxes. There was no doubt that Voldermort would have made some, as this world couldn't be _that_ different, surely, that Voldermort didn't make those choices decades ago.

Though, how to deliver it and the contents of the message would still need care. Horcruxes were a big thing, and he wasn't sure an ominous letter by the door could make them believe it- he couldn't simply write:

"By the way, Voldy has Horcruxes, I think they might be in these locations, go get 'em.

Luv from Person-You-Don't-Know.

PS, you might want to use basilisk venom or something just as powerful to destroy them, they're really tough.

PPS, I'm not mad, really."

And, who knows if they would be in the same location? Or the same things? Would Nagini still be one? The Dairy would probably be one, but Harry didn't know if Malfoy still held that, or if the Chamber of secrets incident happened in this world. The Locket, Ring, Cup and Diadem would also likely still be Horcruxes, but again, their locations were uncertain. The Locket might still be in the cave, if Regulus didn't steal it here, or God knows where else- Still in Grimmauld Place? Thinking about it, he almost hoped Regulus did steal it and died doing so- if not then there might be a chance that the Order's head quarters was not Grimmuald Place and that he'd have to battle through that cave again, something he never ever wanted to do in any universe.

As for the Ring... Dumbledore took that from the old Gaunt home. It should still be there, as Harry didn't think Dumbledore had moved it yet. The Diadem, would still be in the Room of Requirement, almost certainly. And the Cup... That would likely be in the Lestrange's vault, or another high ranking Death Eaters vault at least. As for Nagini... Perhaps, but he'd have to keep an eye out for her before coming to any conclusions.

Harry dipped his quill in ink and began to write, speaking out loud his writings, as Minerva growled when he tried to hide his work.

_O.T.P_

_ This letter may alarm you, due both to it's contents and to it's unknown origin. I can only assure you I mean no harm and will keep your location secret, but for my own safety, I cannot reveal myself._

_ What I will tell you though, is disturbing. I am sure one of you will be aware of what a Horcrux is, if not I will tell you that it is the means that Voldermort is keeping himself alive._

_ If you were to attempt to kill him, he would only return. He will almost certainly have at least six of these, of which I can only name five, from the knowledge I have gained. It is well known Voldemort has a fondness for grandeur and Blood Purity and so I know almost for certain that Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's Diadem and Slytherin's Locket are confirmed to be three of them. I do not believe he managed to acquire a possession of Gryffindor's. _

_ The Cup, I can only suggest will be in possession of one of Voldermort's most prized Death Eaters, likely to be in Gringotts, due to it's legendary security. I think it is a good chance that it may be the Lestranges, though I am not certain. As for the Diadem, I believe there is a very strong chance that is lies inside Hogwarts itself, hidden safely in the room of requirement. I cannot say for sure where the Locket may be- I heard that is was hidden in a cave, but it's location is unknown to me. I also heard R.A.B may have discovered it, so it is possible that it might even be in his home._

_ As for the other two, one will be his old Diary, back when he was simply Tom Riddle, something of a test . I believe this may have been in trusted into the Malfoy's care, but again, I'm afraid I cannot confirm that for certain. The last one I know of is the Gaunt's family ring, a Pure Blood family that was apparently descendent from Salazar Slytherin and ancestors of Voldermort. I think this should still be in the Guant family home, near Little Hangleton._

_ The reason I believe it is six, is due to the number seven. Six Horcruxes and himself would lead to seven soul pieces, the most powerful magical number. The last is unknown to me, but I hope to discover it. _

_ It will take something powerful, like Basilisk venom, or even fiendfyre, to destroy Horcruxes._

_ Good luck.- H_

Harry read it over and glanced to Minerva for her approval. She seemed unnerved, but gave him a lazy blink and moved closer. Harry hoped it was the right thing to do, telling them about the Horcruxes- the last thing he wanted was them getting killed trying to find them, or worse, giving them the wrong information. He sprinkled writing sand over it, to stop the ink from running.

Finding a piece of string, he tied the rolled up letter and offered the string handle he'd created to Minerva, who looked at him expectantly.

"Right, the location is Grimmauld Place Number... Number?..." What on earth? Harry knew this just a little while ago, there was no way he could forget it! " Grimmauld Place Number...1? 2?"

Impossible! The Fidelius charm of this universe was trying to block him out! He was the secret keeper in his world, so he damn well could remember the location in this one. The Fidelius attached itself to people's souls, so while his version of the Fidelius charm on Grimmauld Place was probably different to the one here, he still had the information, he just needed to remember it.

However, remembering was easier said then done and was taking a little more time then necessary.

"Grimmauld Place Number 3? No, that's not it."

"Grimmuald Place Number 4! No, no..."

This continued up to 6 and 7.

"Wait, Grimmauld Place Number 8! Actually that doesn't sound right either..."

Then to 10 and 11...

"Grimmauld Place Number Twel...12. 'Grimmauld Place No. 12'... Yes!" Harry grinned maniacally, and Minerva leaned back, her worry apparent, "That's it! You need to deliver this to Grimmauld Place No. 12. Don't let anyone else see it, except the people in that house, understood?"

The cat purred. But continued sitting, obviously not having the magical ability to know where anyplace was, whether she'd been there or not. An owl really would have been better.

...oo0(~)0oo...

A quick apparition and one annoyed cat later, Minerva had been dropped off close to the location wanted. After her new and very odd master knew that she could find her way back 'home', she was dropped near her destination and left to her duties. They were good, morally right duties, if a bit secretive, so she didn't mind. Walking towards where Harry had directed her, Minerva glared at the now appearing house. Her cat/kneazle eyes could see the obvious wards protecting the house- her presence might not go unnoticed. Not that she wasn't quick enough to dart in and out before anyone could possibly catch her- and the alarm might act as a doorbell would, seeing that she would have difficulty knocking.

Quickly running through the wards, some of which did trigger, Minerva dropped the rolled up note on the doorstep, before running a short distance away to hide, so she could be certain they received the note. When a black haired man, (with one or two grey streaks), wearing glasses came out, cautiously checking the area with his hand ready to draw his wand, he stepped on the note. Minerva waited to see if he'd notice it. He did, blinking at the rolled up piece of paper before he picked it up, untying and unrolling it, curious about what it was. A glance later and his hazel eyes widened, hand reaching for his wand as he searched around, to try and spot the messenger, before slamming the door shut with a shout for 'Alastor'.

Minerva fled, easily finding he way back to the open window to one of the Leaky Cauldron's rooms.

...oo0(~)0oo...

Morfin was scowling at the Daily Prophet. The assassination had gone brilliantly- He got in, killed, got out and no one linked Draco to anything. This was supposed to blacken Charlus' name- news should have gotten out that 'Charlus Potter' killed Dumbledore. All the Portraits in that office saw him, wearing Charlus' appearance! Yet the damn Ministry, or more likely the Order, had covered things up. Morfin's good work was made slightly less impressive. Father had been proud of him and now he was disappointed.

Yes, Dumbledore was dead and the 'light' side had been dealt a heavy blow, but they missed the chance to make that blow _devastating_.

Things had been... Joyous yesterday, for the other Death Eaters at least. Draco didn't feel that great about it, a small part of his conscience eating at him for playing a part in Dumbledore's death. Morfin liked the idea of his Father being proud of him and his Father winning, but didn't feel like joining in the celebrations. Instead the two of them had kept each other company, avoiding the others. There were talks of a strange hooded man that wasn't a Death Eater attacking the Aurors, but it was drowned out by the talk of Dumbledore's death. The thought of new recruits paled in comparison to the death of an enemy figure head.

"Don't worry Morfin- there is still a way to fix this." Draco's hand rested on Morfin's shoulder as he sat beside him. Morfin scoffed. How was it possible now to let the public know that it was 'Charlus' who killed Dumbledore? Go out there himself and scream it like a maniac? Morfin raised a dark brow at Draco, green eyes cold from his poor mood.

"Is there? How would you suggest doing that, Draco?"

Draco turned to lean against the table with in Morfin's room. Morfin, as the Dark Lord's 'son', had his own room with in the Riddle mansion, both to emphasise his status and to keep him hidden. Death Eaters would never try to harm him, not while he carried the Dark Lords protection, but his likeness to Charlus was hidden from all but a few. Voldermort wasn't stupid enough to believe all his followers were loyal to him, and wished to save Morfin's identity till a later date.

"The Portraits are being hushed somehow, but the person responsible won't admit to doing it- helping hide Dumbledore's killer wouldn't put them in a very good light. So, they couldn't argue if an anonymous student were to... over hear the school Portraits talking; whispers of Charlus Potter being the last one to enter the headmaster's office, before the old man died and decided to let everyone know the truth?" Draco motioned to himself, looking for Morfin's approval of the plan.

Morfin cocked his head. It would be dangerous. Draco would be showing that he knew information that he shouldn't have heard and there was no guarantee that his identity would remain hidden. The Order members may even threaten Draco, and Morfin didn't want to risk his friends safety.

"Would this anonymous student spread the rumour around school or attempt to tell the press?" Draco smiled at Morfin's slight approval.

"Spread rumours first- even if certain reporters snap up any story they can get, real or false, the student would risk loosing their anonymity if they spoke to one. Rumours can be hard to trace sometimes, and once the Portraits around school catch hold of it, it would be as if the student really had heard it from them." Draco waved his hand explaining. Morfin never had any experience of schools, so wouldn't truly know how they worked.

"Rumours are only rumours. They may be stamped out and the truth behind them rendered useless." Morfin frowned and was mirrored by Draco. Draco, as much as he was a friend, was also a person attempting to gain favour and strength amongst the Death Eaters and had just lost an opportunity to do so.

"Then the Portraits in the office need to be freed from their silence somehow. I still suggest using the rumour- Hogwarts is renowned to spread it's own secrets amongst it's members, unless Dumbledore stopped it, but I doubt the Acting Head could control the students." Draco glanced at Morfin, silently asking for his thoughts on the matter.

"I'll have to ask my Father for advice, but the main task now is putting a puppet Head in. I believe we were thinking of using Umbridge. After she is put in place, she could get the Portraits to talk, though by then the effect would be lessened. Spread the rumours then, at least they'll dishearten." Morfin stood up, offering Draco a polite nod, as he left to find his Father. He trusted Draco enough to leave him alone in his room, but not the other Death Eaters, so he pulled up a hood to hide his face. The Faceless Heir of Voldermort was more threatening and important than the boy who shared Charlus Potter's face.

Death Eaters bowed their heads to him as he glided through the corridors but left him alone. Morfin calmly walked to his Father's meeting room, knocking before entering and waiting by the door, watching his Father discuss matters with some of his inner circle, like Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. Morfin rather liked Lucius, though he found him to be at times a little sycophantic. Severus on the other hand... He and Morfin shared a mutual dislike. Severus seemed to hate Morfin for his resemblance to... _Him. _ And Morfin hated Severus for reminding him of his relation, as well as finding the man... untrustworthy. Snape did not seem completely dedicated to the cause.

"Ah, Morfin, glad you could join us. I did not manage to see much of you after your success, though I was saddened to see that the Media failed to mention who committed the act." Voldermort's greeting and motion for Morfin to join them silenced the current discussion between him and the Death Eaters. His Father did not look the picture of health. Long black hair only emphasised the unhealthy paleness of his waxy skin, while his eyes showed a... odd sign of life. It was still life, yes, but is was as if it were another sort of life then others had, which did not surprise Morfin. His Father had a habit of being different.

Morfin bowed his head low, "I'm sorry to have failed you my Lord." While Morfin may have referred to Voldermort as Father amongst friends, he always showed respect and manners, that had been imprinted into him from an early age, while in the company of others.

Voldermort waved his hand dismissively, beckoning Morfin to join the group. "You have not failed Morfin. The smear on Charlus' name was to be a simple bonus, while Dumbledore's death was the main task and one you excelled in. Fourteen years old and you managed to complete an act I wished to do for so many years. I'm not disappointed. Now, we are moving onto the next stage" Voldermort fell slowly and gracefully back into his throne, implying that another should explain the current plans. Lucius took the hint.

"The only two things left in our way is the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix. The Ministry is already being infiltrated and will fall before long. However, the Order proves more difficult. Once we gain control of the Ministry we will be more able to locate and dispatch them, but they remain hidden as of this moment." Lucius spoke softly with an aristocratic air, an attribute Draco had not quite picked up on, but one Morfin was learning well from his Father.

"And what of the Potters? Given the chance they'll rally resistance. Charlus Potter is powerful symbol for them as well, and my failure to blacken his name means he'll remain one for some time. On that matter, Draco was wondering if he should begin to spread rumours of Charlus supposed part in the murder?" Morfin always faced his Father, only looking at Lucius when he was speaking, however, Morfin did not miss the look of pride and protectiveness in Lucius eyes when he mentioned Draco. Voldermort didn't miss it either, smiling slightly at the perceived weakness. Lucius disliked involving his son in Death Eater affairs and Voldermort thought such sheltering would soften Draco.

Voldermort paused awhile before speaking, " I doubt highly that the rumour would catch, with out evidence. Charlus Potter, Dumbledore's golden boy, also his murderer? It would be easily dismissed, but he may as well. I doubt we'll be able to salvage your efforts until we can place Umbridge in power, which will require some more time to allow for us to _persuade_ the Minister of Magic."

Morfin nodded in acknowledgement. Lucius looked as if he were about to speak, but could not decide how to speak his protests, but Snape interupted him.

"And what about the man from Hogsmeade? I believe Morfin has not been informed of this matter" The other Death Eaters gave a few comments, now that it was a subject that they could speak more freely upon. Things like recruiting this man, ignoring him or showing him his place. Morfin frowned. Had something gone wrong with the decoy mission? Why did he not hear of this?

"Ah yes, the one who so kindly offered a distraction so our people could easily slip away. I think that this is a good sign, we are gaining more sympathisers, powerful ones too, it seems" Voldermort casualy commented on and Morfin was feeling slightly insulted that no one was going to inform him of exactly what the situation was about. A few of the Death Eaters agreed instantly with the Lord, while Snape calmly and carefully opposed.

"If I my speak my mind on this matter, I feel it may be dangerous not to discourage such... Civilian involvement in our activities. They do not know the plan and may disrupt our missions. We gain sympathisers daily, but these... Death Eater- Mimics may hinder us." Voldermort looked steadily at Snape for a moment, then nodded, considering Severus' debate.

"Your words have truth Severus, but I do not think we should punish those who try to support us, but in any future events like this we should dissuade the unrecruited from involving themselves too strongly." Voldermort paused, either thinking of waiting for anyone to comment. No one did. "As for this man, I believe we should repay the support he has shown by keeping him out of Auror hands. Get some of the outer circle members to keep watch for him."

Voldermort dismissed his followers, with the exception of Morfin, who joined his Father to their private chambers for more personal discussions, and perhaps a good game of Wizards chess.

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Gah! I'm sorry for the lateness! Exams, christmas and terrifying english teachers through me off course. I've crazily managed to burn through my extra chapters, so now I have no back up if I don't keep my deadline. Sorry about that. Hopefully another bout of writers mind will hit me, so I can quickly dish out some good chapters. As for this chap... I.... wavered on it. Too much speech, too much pondering... Kneazle. I wasn't sure about the kneazle but I wanted something more intelligent then an owl to be a companion too Harry till he finally joins the others. I reaaally hope this isn't getting too confusing. Some of you have mentioned that you aren't getting things and I feel thats it's my fault for not making them clearer- somethings will become clearer with time, but until then, point of anything you feel is ooc, incorrect, too cliché, overly predictable or completely unpredictable, so on so on. Also, remember to pop onto my profile- I respond to all my reviews there, so you can all get answers. And uh...hmm. Can't think of anything else to say. Anything else might pop up later on my profile. Hope I can update again soon, so we don't go for another month of inactivity. I apologise for any typos... I might end up combing through all of the chapters later- if one really confuses the meaning of a sentence then I would love you if you could point it out, so I can quickly go back and change it.


	7. Family Issues

_Previously- 30__th__ of October- Harry enters the alternate universe. He stays at the three broomsticks and discovers what he believes is his alternate version, Charlus. 31__st__ of October, Halloween- Harry suffers from his first of the nightmares, changes his appearance slightly, Death eaters attack Hogsmeade. Morfin, Harry's true alterself, kills Dumbledore. Harry is labelled a threat and possible Death Eater by Aurors and the Order. Harry escapes to the leaky cauldron. 32nd of December- Death Eaters ponder of their next move and plan to try and recruit Harry- Or show him his place. Harry suffers from another nightmare, buys a kneazle and sends a message to the order, who where in the middle of their meeting:-_

_(A mistake was pointed out in my last ch.- the date was the 32__nd__ not the 33__rd__, so we aren't going back a day- hopefully the quick sum above might help people get back on track with the jumpy story line, till I go back and make everything a little more ordered)_

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32nd of October- Grimmauld place.

It wasn't long before the first Order of the Phoenix meeting, without Dumbledore at its head, began to go ahead. The Longbottoms being the first to arrive. Alice and Frank Longbottom were still alive and sane in this world, though Frank lost his wand arm in a fight with Death Eaters. He had it replaced with an enchanted prosthetic limb, but nevertheless, he couldn't use his wand the same way any more. However he was offered a position of Potions Master at Hogwarts, with Slughorn assisting him, due to his skill at potions and that it didn't require too much wand work. Neville, as a result of both parents being there to support him, was more confident in this world then the other, though he still held some of his clumsiness, which just seemed to be part of being Neville Longbottom.

"Hey Charlus." Neville gave the False Boy Who Lived a weak smile, the death of Dumbledore weighing heavily on his large heart. He broke away from his parents and made his way to stand beside Charlus.

Charlus gave a 'Hey' back along with a polite nod to Mrs and Mr Longbottom, who looked anxious and worried, no doubt eager for the rest of the Order to arrive so that they could discuss the plan of action- now that Dumbledore was no longer there to lead them. They barely even returned his nod before disappearing to join the other adults in the study.

"Who else is there to come?" Neville asked curiously, looking around to see if he could spot anyone.

"The Weasleys haven't arrived yet- I expect that they'll be getting in touch with Charlie and Bill, before they arrive here. Maybe Charlie and Bill will come too, though I don't know if they could be excused from their jobs that quickly," Charlus motioned for Neville to follow him up to his room, both boys being joined by Connor, who simply didn't want to be by himself while the adults were busy, "Then Moody needs to return- I don't know why he left, probably just to check up on things. Then Pr. McGonagall, once she get the chance to escape the chaos of the school, has to try and come, though she mentioned in a floo earlier she doesn't know if she'll be able to."

Charlus' room was remarkably tidy for a teenage boy's room- there was a few school books and the odd muggle comic strewn about the place. Charlus enjoyed reading the comic books, because muggles seemed to have more imagination then most wizards, maybe due to their lack of knowledge on the basic rules of magic- Super beings that could control weather by will, shape-shift into anything and retain the ability to talk or never die due to rapid healing rates? Charlus thought it was brilliant insanity. But other then that, the room had a clearly visible floor and the bed wasn't a tangled mess.

Connor would likely change that if Charlus didn't keep an eye on him, so he let the six year old boy read one of the older comics, ignoring the complaints that it was broken because it didn't move. Connor had yet to understand that muggle pictures and photos were _meant_ to be static. Charlus sat in his study chair, allowing Neville to sit on the bed. Neville didn't look much better then his parents; as if he was waiting for someone to come tell him that it was over, they'd lost. Charlus just felt numb.

"Do you think Luna will come?" Neville was searching for a conversation topic, but was avoiding the one he wanted to bring up: '_What's going to happen now?_'. So instead, he picked one he was much more comfortable with; friends.

Charlus shook his head, "She rarely can. Her father is too... eccentric and absent minded to be allowed to join the Order and he would want come as well if she did. She only comes here if my parents feel up to coping with Xenophilius'... abstractness, or if she can come by herself."

Charlus studied Neville quickly and was about to talk about his belief that his parents were even trying to exclude _him_ from Order knowledge, even though it obviously involves him somehow- Why else would they be so stubbornly hiding it?- when the floo sounded again. Charlus decided that he could wait till later, as he didn't feel like speaking about with the Weasley children, who would most likely be the ones arriving, and that Neville probably would say the same things like last time:

'We are a bit young, though, aren't we?'

'I'm sure they'd tell you if they felt they should. They know best, right?'

'They're only trying to protect you.'

Connor dropped the comic book and raced past Charlus, calling to Fred and George, while Charlus and Neville _calmly_ made their way back down to greet the red-headed family. Still, s soon as Charlus entered the room, Mrs. Weasley had him in a bear hug. Despite not having the same bond that Harry and Mrs. Weasley had in the other world, the firm but kind woman had too big a heart to treat Charlus overly formerly. Connor would have most likely have been hugged also, if he hadn't managed to avoid her and tackle the unusually serious Twins. They put on a smile for the 'honorary Weasley', though, returning Connor's attention.

"How are you doing, dear? oh- nevermind, that was a silly question to ask..." Mrs Weasley pulled back to get a good look at Charlus, examining him with motherly concern. He smiled at her and said he'd survive, before letting her give a similar, if slightly less motherly, treatment to Neville. The Order had stayed strong in this world, so the families knew each other well, often becoming unofficial Aunts and Uncles to each others children.

"Molly! Arthur!" Lily greeted the couple, almost a little too joyfully considering the sombre atmosphere. Mrs Weasley instantly went to give her a warm hug, making somewhat weak, small-talk about Lily's unborn child, mentioning how she hoped for Lily's sake it was going to be a girl. Arthur gave Lily the best smile he could manage, before moving to greet the other four adults who had come to greet the family. The brief moment of happiness past, and the adults returned to the study, speaking in hushed voices, leaving the young adults in an awkward silence.

"... What's going to happen now, do you think?" Ginny broke the tension, brave enough to ask the question that they were all thinking, except maybe Connor. She sat on one of the couches, her brother, Ron, sitting beside her, looking more uncomfortable. For a moment all they could do was stare at her, not coming up with an answer, before Neville looked expectantly at Charlus, but he wasn't the one to answer.

"I'll tell you what happens- Bad things, like 'You-know-who-taking-over' bad." Ron blurted out, and received an elbow from his sister. The twins, George temporarily distracted as he played Connor, sighed dramatically.

"Oh dear, looks like Ronald's lost his nerve-" Began George.

"Not that he had much to begin with." Ended Fred. Ron muttered a curse under his breath at the two, and Charlus had to hide a grin. He knew it was mean and immature of him to have this rivalry with Ron, but he couldn't help it. They were two totally different personalities. Ginny, however, stuck up for her brother.

"Knock it off you two. You know you're thinking it could happen too. But it won't, right Charlus?" Ginny looked at him with confidence. She'd long since given up on her crush returning her feelings, but still had a lot of faith and, oddly, pride in him. Neville nudged Charlus, encouraging him to answer, and Charlus faltered for a minute. He wasn't a Gryffindor, that he could make uplifting and brave speeches. He was a Ravenclaw, who could analyse the situation and realise how dire things were. He could figure out that things where going to get worse, drastically, but he also knew he couldn't say that.

"Right... I mean, when push comes to shove, the wizarding world will fight back. Up until now, Voldermort's been the bogeyman. The Terrorist, as mum calls him. The wizarding world fears him, but see's him as a threat they can pretend isn't happening. That they hope some one else will deal with. When they're forced to realise this isn't true... We'll fight back. Voldermort won't be given the chance to take over." Charlus did his best to keep his voice certain, and steady. He was the Boy Who Lived. He was going to be a figure head of this war. He couldn't afford to look weak- not even in front of friends... How he hated that title. One he never even truly earned. How can you expect a baby to consciously survive a Death Eater attack? It's not as if one year old him picked up a wand and fought back, valiantly. He survived, by chance. He wasn't going to delude himself and think otherwise.

"Y-yeah! I mean, most of these Death eaters are spoilt pure-bloods right? They're not as loyal, as u-us. We're fighting not only because we choose to, but because we have to- They'll.. they won't be able to stand up against us, not when we all fight back- which we have to, and will!" Neville, always there for him, came to Charlus' aid. Ron looked sceptical, and the twins looked thoughtful for a moment, even Connor stopping to listen. Ginny smiled confidently.

"Told you. Any way, why are we worrying about something that's not happening yet? What do you think they're talking about in there?" Ginny nodded to the study door, and Charlus found himself agreeing with her. He really did want to find out what they were talking about.

Fred grinned, and pulled what looked like an ear out of his pocket, "How about we find out, hm?"

Charlus blinked, before smiling back. Now all they had to do was wait for Moody and McGonagall.

...oo0(~)0oo...

"This is bad, James." Frank looked at the others, before fixing his eyes on James' " I agree with you, I really do- That we can't just give up because Dumbledore is gone. But how long can Minervra keep Hogwarts? How long till the Death Eaters get confident enough to do ever bolder attacks? How long will the ministry stay in the right hands?" Frank stopped looking around. He was a kind hearted man, usually with a soft touch, but when it came to the Order he wasn't afraid to say what everyone else was thinking. James rubbed his face- And they _were_ all thinking it. It just seemed so much worse to hear be said seemed to have been nominated as the new Head of the Order, despite no discussions o votes happening on the matter. And he was finding it was even harder then he'd imagined.

"Minervra will keep Hogwarts as long as _we_ keep the Ministry in the right hands. And as long as we keep the Ministry, Death Eaters will keep to their shadows." James stated this firmly, more confident in his words, then his son was in his speech. James was a true Gryffindor. He could make you believe you had a chance of running on lava, with out being burnt, so long as you tried hard enough.

The others though, weren't as convinced. McGonnagal looked somewhat embarassed due to the discussion being over her ability to hold Hogwarts. Lily stroked her belly nervously, offering her husband a supportive smile. Frank and Arthur sat pensively, while Alice and Molly shared a look. Tonks, who didn't think she'd be able to arrive, had difficulty keeping her hair a confident shade of pink. Only Sirius came to his defense.

" 'Course. It's not like the Death Eater ever have a chance of winning. They're more like a creepy pure blood club that's gotten out of hand." Sirius grinned at James, backing him up, much like how Neville did for Charlus. However, even Sirius' grin faltered when Moody looked prepared to speak.

He sat up straight, Fawkes, who perched on his shouldered, mimicked the action, making the oncoming lecture even more imposing, " Wipe that stupid grin of your face, boy. They're as much as a tea party as we are. This is war- and we're approaching the climax." Moody's magicked eye flicked over each one of them, as if daring them to state otherwise. "The Pure-bloods already have the Ministry. It's only a matter of time before they begin to wield it. What then, hm?" He growled.

"They'll replace Minervra with one of their own. Then the portraits will talk. And then, the news about your son. Or have you all forgotten that Harry- the one the prophecy applies to is playing Death Eater for his 'daddy'. _Did you?"_ James flinched and Lily sought out his hand with one of her one, needing comfort.

"And what do you suggest we do Moody?" James bit out, " Harry is still our _son. _And unless you have forgotten, we need him. He's the only one who can defeat Voldermort."

"That boy is as much your son as I'm this bird's mother. And as for a matter of needing him, that all depends on your interpretation of the prophecy".

Silence washed over the Order, most looking shocked by Alastor's words. Their shock grew greater, however, as Lily drew her wand on him. James seemed torn between calming her down, and joining her. Sirius, who sat beside her, took the dive and tried to get her to lower her wand.

"Come on Lils, we can't do this righ-"

"Take it back! Take it back, _right now! _He is our son. My baby, you hear! I won't let you hurt him, Alastor. It doesn't matter wha- He didn't _know_ what he was doing. That bastard stole him from us. But we can get him back. We can save him- we can get _our_ boy back-" Lily's voice cracked, and finally allowed Sirius to sit her down, James embracing his now sobbing wife, as her hormonally heightened maternal rage fell into despair. The others glanced at Moody.

"You don't really mean that, do you Moody? I mean... We know what he's done but...there's gotta be another way" Tonks questioned her Mentor timidly, as if she couldn't think of another option either, but couldn't accept the proposed one.

" I do think we're being a bit rash, Alastor. We haven't even seen him, yet alone talked to him. We have theories yes- but we can't decide anything on so little evidence." McGonagall added.

"Anyway, is this really a topic we need to discuss right now? This is something we have to take time to think calmly as possible. And I believe we were discussing issues with the Ministry- Lily doesn't need this right now." Molly firmly told Moody, but he just scoffed.

"It's the same bloody topic. To beat this war, to keep the Ministry as uncorrupted as possible, to disperse the Death Eaters, we need to kill Voldermort. And that has everything to do with Harry." Moody paused, and they all considered this.

The Prophecy said that Harry had the power to defeat the Dark lord, but not that he would. It said the either must die at the others hands, but not who. It said neither could live while the other survived, but so far no one could figure out what that meant, beside it meaning that their quality of life would be non-existent while they both breathed. The Prophecy could mean any number of things. It could mean Harry had to die for Voldemort to be defeated. It could mean that Harry had to be converted back to the light side. It could mean that Harry was already doomed to fail. But it was true. The only way for the war to be one was if Voldemort was defeated, and they needed Harry to do that.

Finally Arthur broke the silence. "I know, as a father of seven myself, that this isn't decision to be made lightly. I know you want this decided now Moody, but that's just unreasonable. Give us all time to think. Mean while, we can address another issue- who's head of the Order now, for instance. I don't believe any of us wish to disband."

Alice was about to speak when a wave of magic radiated thought the house, warning bells quite literally chiming. Moody and Tonks were quick to react, drawing their wands, the others not far behind them. "James! Which alarm was that?" Moody spun towards the door, upsetting the young Fawkes clinging onto his shoulder.

"Front door!" James shouted, and the others hurried into action. Molly took Lily upstairs, shouting at any children she could see to get upstairs to safety. Sirius and Frank went to make sure the other entrances were secure as well. Alice, Arthur and McGonagall got into position behind Tonks and Moody, while James checked the front door. James carefully approached the door, wand at the ready, before glancing through the enchanted peek hole, allowing him to fully examine all parts of his garden before he opened the door.

"Well? What's out there?" Moody growled. James just shook his head.

"Nothing. Nothings out there. It was only a small alarm, but still- what ever it was had to have been magical- and somehow got through the fidelius charm. How is that even possible?" James glanced, confused and worried, back at them. By this time Frank and Sirius had come back with clear reports.

James took another glance, before deciding to look outside with a call for cover, in case there was anything still out there. Gryffindor courage could tackle anything, but this danger was threatening his family's safety. As he slowly pulled the door back a few images of possible consequences of opening the door- unleashing a horde of Death Eaters into his house, or compromising the last thread of secrecy they have but the simple act of opening the door. Still, he took a breath, and pulled it all the way back, wand sweeping the front of the house like a metal-detector for danger.

Seeing nothing, he stepped outside the safety of his home, knowing his friends were ready and waiting behind him. He was, however, not expecting the soft noise of a paper roll being crushed. Surprised he pulled his foot back and stared at the intruding item.

A letter.

There was a letter on his doorstep, a doorstep no one he didn't trust should be able to see. And everyone he trusted would have sent and owl, or at least knocked, or done something other then leave a small rolled up letter and bolted. Picking it up, wand still ever ready, the paper unfurled, and he skim read it. Then had to double check. Then had to call for Mad-Eye, slamming the door behind him. Alastor looked baffled, and demanded to know what he was holding, but James just told everyone to go back to the meeting room. _Now._

"What's this about, man? Is that a letter? Tell us already!" Moody's eye erratically examined every millimetre of the paper from where he stood, and James knew that it'd be able to discern what some of the words were before everyone had arrived.

"Lily, Molly! You're needed back down here!" James called out of the door, and was answered with an unhappy grumble from Molly, who also snapped at the children to go back to their rooms. James needed them all here. He only really fully understood part of the letter, but that doesn't change the sheer weight this thing had. Someone knew where they were, who they were. This person seemed well informed on Voldemort, and could very likely be a Death Eater themselves. And the Information contained... was unbelievable, but disturbing.

"James? What's going on, love?" Lily, asked concerned, finally entering the room with a disgruntled Mrs. Weasley. James closed the door behind the two, before putting the letter on the table, still looking panicky. Finally, after everyone stared at the seemingly innocent piece of paper, Alastor picked it up and read it aloud.

The Order listened, faces growing more serious and the atmosphere became tense. They all realised how momentous this letter was. What it said, what it meant. Alastor even hesitated before speaking.

"Horcrux. Horcrux-es. They're almost considered a myth in the Auror department. Barely mentioned. I did more research..." Alastor snapped his mouth shut, before looking to make sure they were all paying complete attention, "A Horcrux is made by putting part of your soul in an object. It guarantees a immortality of half-life" Moody spat.

"If this letter is true," He continued "Then it's worse then I feared. We'd have no hope of defeating Voldemort if even one of these things remained." The order stayed Silent, before Alice finally got chance to speak.

"You don't really believe it, do you? A Horcrux is a thing of legend, and we're expected to believe an Mr 'H' that Voldermort has _multiple_ Horcruxes?" Others seemed to share Alice's sentiment, but Alastor just scoffed.

"Do I look that gullible to you? Of course not! Still theres truth within every lie and every tale, and I'll find out what truth this letter holds. It could be false. It could be a scare tactic. Or, it could be true- why lie about something as unbelievable as separating ones soul into _seven_ pieces."

The order broke out into heated debate, about who the sender could possibly, their intentions, how believable and how true the information was. It was agreed the person knew Voldermort well- too well. Death Eater, Ex or not, was still not to be trusted. And who else could it be but a D.E?

Lily just stared at the initial H. She knew it was silly, that it was foolish, but she couldn't help it. The motherly side of her hoped, with all it's heart, that it was _him_. Her boy. Her Harry. Her more sensible side scoffed, and berated it's other half. But it wished it was as well. It just knew better then to hope. Hope their son was coming back to them.

"R.A.B, huh. Wonder if this D.E was mates with my brother. Although, he's been dead a while." Sirius' seemingly unthought out comment gained him much attention, and snapped Lily out of her thoughts, "Well... I mean he became a Death Eater, and got himself killed, the bastard. And it's not like I see my brother stealing his beloved master's soul-in-a-locket. And anyway.. there must be plenty of people with R.A.B as their initials... right?" Sirius explained himself, looking around for support to his thoughts.

Moody looked thoughtful for a while, before being brought out his thoughts by a fidgeting Phoenix, who'd just woken up from a nap. He didn't even know Phoenixes rested, but then again, being hit by a killing curse was bad for anyone's health. Fawkes was taking longer then he liked to grow back to adulthood again. Not that he didn't like the bird, but he didn't like children of any species.

"Maybe. But no stone should be left unchecked, no back unguarded. Constant vigilance." Moody stared at Sirius, " Did your brother show any signs of defecting? That he knew of something important, as important as a Horcrux?"

Sirius just shrugged. "I didn't see him often enough to know"

Moody growled, and snatched up the letter, "Tonks, with me. We're going to see what we can find out about Mr. H. As for you lot. Think about what I said about Potter, and the new information you've received. Don't take it as the honest truth, but never dismiss it." He paused, "Oh, and elect a new Head. We can't keep squabbling amongst ourselves like ignorant children."

Tonks gave a 'catch'ya later', before following the Ex-Auror out, leaving the others to mull over everything that happened during the hectic meeting.

Lily was the first to break the silence, "I'm going up to rest dear. I'm far too tired" Lily rose uncertaintly, her pregnant belly and fatigue putting her off balance. James joined her, and accompanied her back to their room. Sirius just sighed and rubbed his face.

"Anyone want a cup of tea? Or something stronger? I got a dry throat from all that 'banter'." Sirius offered, getting up and heading towards the drink cabinet. McGonagall declined, but Frank accepted. The others, accepted the offer of tea.

"I knew he was evil. But do you really think he was, is, capable of such a thing- splitting his _soul?_" McGonagall asked, looking horrified.

The others just shook their heads, Molly mentioning something about 'never putting anything by that monster'. Arthur, seemingly trying to change the topic away from such a morbid subject asked the Transfiguration teacher how it was going with Hogwarts, but didn't find it to be a much lighter conversation.

"Dreadful. Parents are refusing to let children come back, calling them out during school time. And the... Magic feels gone. As in the feel of welcoming, of warmth, and safety. The halls feel cold and dead. It's as if the very school is grieving. And let me tell you, I'm having a hard time myself, stuck up there with all those damn accusing Portraits." She sighed and shook her head, "Speaking of which, I really should be heading back. Good evening to you all." The Acting Head-mistress bid them all, before heading to the fire place. Soon after the Longbottoms and Weasleys mentioned there own needs to leave, despite Sirius assuring them they could sty the night if they really wanted to.

When the children were called down to say goodbye, most looked a little shaken, and stressed. Charlus appeared almost cold with his stoic expression. But Sirius expected that. After all, there was that panic with the alarms going off, and Charlus hated to kept out of things. He needed to know _everything_. That's what probably got him stuck in Ravenclaw.

...oo0(~)0oo...

Charlus wasn't sure what to feel. He was Angry. He was Shocked. Betrayed. Sad. Frightened.

His own supposedly dead brother. Poor Harry. The twin that _didn't survive._ The Twin that made him The-Boy-Who-Lived. The twin that killed Dumbledore, while wearing his face. Poor, Bastard, Harry.

And his parents thought keeping this from him was a good idea? Letting him believe he was destined to defeat Voldermort, save the world, while really that responsibility fell to his long lost twin, who, by the way, seemed to get the wrong owl. He killed _Dumbledore, _not _Voldermort._

It was insanity. And he didn't know how to cope with it.

"Uh, Ch-Charlus?" Neville nervously stuttered, watching his friend pace. They'd all listened in, barely getting the ear up and hidden when that alrm went off and the adults had rushed out. Only Connor, who couldn't really understand who Harry was, didn't share everyone elses show and anxiety. Charlus could practically feel them waiting for him to... do something. Explode. Break down in Tears. Declare vengeance upon his evil twin. He wished Luna was there. She'd say something. Something insane, to fit the occasion, but wise. Good, cryptic advice. Luna was good at that. Instead he sighed, and tried to figure out what to say to the people he was sharing his room with.

" I'm fine- well, no I'm not. I'm just... I can't believe this. They where hiding _this_ from me?" The others looked at eachother, before looking back at Charlus.

"Well...at least you know, now, right? A-and you're no longer responsible for everyone. S-so there's a bright side, see?" Neville only stuttered when he was really nervous, and it hurt Charlus even more to see his friend return to old habits. And he didn't find that thought all that comforting. He may no longer feel it's his duty, but the wizarding world still did. And he didn't think he'd get much sympathy if they knew the truth. He'd be the pretender. The false-hope.

"And there's not a lot you can actually do, is there?" Charlus glared at Ron, who balked a bit, but then met Charlus' eyes, " I mean, think about it. Your brother killed _Dumbledore. _You have no chance. You might want to kill him, but that doesn't look like a possibility, does it?" Ron argued pessimistically. Though, Charlus hated to admit it, he had a point. If 'Harry' could defeat Voldemort, and likely commit all the other crimes attributed to the 'Young Death Eater', then Charlus would be no match for him, one on one.

"Not much help, are you Ron. Look, Charlus, before you get yourself worked up on this, you really do need to think 'what can I do', before asking 'what should I do'." Ginny took the role of counsellor, and received supportive agreements from Neville. The Twins had taken Connor else where, to avoid him getting upset. Charlus sat himself down, ready to be patronized, while trying to keep control of his emotions.

"First things first- what's done can't be undone. It doesn't matter what your parent did or didn't tell you. Your Brother might be a Death Eater, but you can't do anything about what's already been done. So; You can either stay angry at your parents, which won't do anything but make things work, or use that Ravenclaw intelligence I hear so much about and figure out why they did what they did, and deal with it."

While it was sound advice, Charlus felt the need to snap, but one concerned and worried look from Neville made him bite his tongue. So, Ravenclaw intelligence. He had that- he could use it. He wasn't so sure about forgiving and forgetting just yet, nor letting his parents get away with out giving him a bloody good explanation themselves. But he could approach this rationally. But Ginny wasn't done yet.

"And you can't take Harry or Voldermort on by yourself. So forget about that. If your going to do anything, it's with everyone else. We have to stick together. And... with your brother. That's up to you and your family." Ginny sighed.

Charlus sighed to. They hadn't come to any conclusion. Ginny had just listed things 'not to do'. A knock sounded at the door, before on of the red head of a Weasley Twin peeked through to look around the room.

"Oh good, nothing's been blown up then" The twin said, before both came in saying, "Splendid" at the same time, before starting their dual monologue.

"Because, while you where all having a nice group chat, we decided that we should..."

"Do something useful. Like finding out what al that fuss was about earlier."

"Turns out we got an anonymous tip"

"About You-Know-Who"

"It appears he's even more devious and evil then we thought"

"It appears he's created 'Horcruxes'. Ring a bell Ravenclaw?" Charlus shook his head.

"Well, if it wasn't one huge fib, then it seems Voldermort can't be truely killed till all of these Horcrux things have been destroyed first"

"Thought you might like to know. Since you like knowing things, the little Ravenclaw you are."

"Any way, Toodles. We Weasleys are being called home. You too Longbottom."

The group blinked, try to process the seemingly vague, yet important information they'd been given, as well as the call to leave. Charlus sighed, and followed them out. As they walked past Connor's room, Charlus could see the Twins, or someone else at least, had put him to bed. The Twins, despite teasing Ron horrifically, could be surprisingly big brotherly.

Charlus watched them leave, barely registering the good-byes, as he thought on what he'd been told; figure out what you can do and Horcruxes.

* * *

Aye, aye, aye. Long time no read, eh? I'm Sorry about that, I really am. But things happen. My Granpa died, not long before my exams. So I just couldn't sit myself down and write, let alone meet deadlines. And once I dropped it, I couldn't seem to pick it back up. And I've lost my notes, and am trying to remember what I wanted to add. And I've got more sad news I'm afraid. I won't be able to continue this. I'm going on a Gap year to Japan next year, and I've got my A levels to earn this year, along with fundraising for said trip. So, I will try to get further with this, before seeing if anyone wishes to adopt it. I do enjoy creating stories, but Fanfiction is for fun- not an obligation. To anyone interested in possibly adopting this story, pm me. If you appear to be able to continue the quality of the story, or raise it, we can talk about maybe cowriting a few chapters, where we want the plot to go, before I hand it over fully. Again, I apologise to all my readers for my slowness and irregularity.


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